Moments in Time
by ii-Phoenix-ii
Summary: Naruto is turned into a 5-year old during his training period with Jiraiya and is found by Akatsuki. Now Itachi is taking care of the chibi blonde who thinks Itachi is his daddy! Not a Yaoi
1. Memories

**Chapter 1: Memories**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the Last Airbender

**IMPORTANT:** This story takes place after Team Kakashi's first encounter with Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto in Shippuden. The memories/ the flashbacks Naruto has take place during the time Naruto was off training with Jiraiya.

**Beta-ed by the awesome:** JayTheCrow

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><p>Tsunade sighed as she looked out the window of the Hokage tower. The mission with Sasuke had not gone according to plan. Sai had been given a secret order to assassinate Sasuke but chose not to for his teammates' sake. Sasuke was crazed with the need to kill Itachi.<p>

Tsunade sighed again. _Why is he so damn obsessed with his brother? I met a lot of people during the Great Shinobi wars; they were truly reminiscent of this fool. They were so consumed by revenge and hatred that in the end they only ended up causing themselves more misery._

Outside, the sun was setting, basking the village in beautiful golden orange rays. _Oh why did I ever agree to become Hokage? This is torture! _The Hokage was mentally ranting about the bane of every Kage's existence: paperwork! She spotted Yamato's report and her thoughts went back to Sasuke.

_He is going to end up causing everyone grief; his need to kill Itachi borderlines insanity... _Tsunade intertwined her hands in front of her, elbows on her desk._ But now if I think about it, he is a bit strange when it comes to his brother. It's creepy but I wonder if there's more than that—_

The word "incest" popped up in her head. "Oh what the hell am I thinking?" Tsunade groaned in annoyance and glared at the stack of paperwork in front of her. _I blame it on the cursed paperwork! _

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><p>The time of day had most of the villagers heading home to their families. An orange blur was seen heading towards the market place. The smell of homemade food was making its way up the orange clad ninja's nose.<p>

_Man! I can't wait to get to Ichiraku's! What ramen should I have today? Beef? Pork? But then there's always the delicious miso ramen! Believe it! _But before the hyperactive ninja could celebrate, a sudden thought entered his mind. _Oh wait! I promised Shikamaru I'd go for a round of shogi with him!_

"NOOO!" Naruto grabbed his hair with his fists and panicked as if on cue, when an idea popped into his head. "Oh, I know!"

A foxy grin replaced his once panic-stricken expression as he brought his hands together and made the hand seal for his signature jutsu. Poof! Another blonde orange clad ninja appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Yo Naruto!"

"Hey, you mind going over to Shikamaru's place? I promised I'd play Shogi with him." He grinned widely, giving his clone a thumbs-up. "Hah! I'm so awesome that even my clone can take him! Believe it!"

His clone gave thumbs-up right back at him, "Right!"

The two soon parted ways and Naruto went back to thinking about ramen. Not far ahead in the street below, a merchant was on his merry way after a hard day of work.

"W-why do I have an awful feeling all of a sudden?" the old man took in his surroundings cautiously. But unfortunately he had not covered the roofs.

As he was double-checking his surroundings, he spotted an orange blur in his peripheral vision heading in the direction of his cart a second too late.

CRASH!

"My cabbages!"

The man looked at the-less-than-decent shape of his cabbages...but wait! The old man spotted the only undamaged leafy green vegetable.

"Ugh… What just happened?" Naruto looked around a bit disoriented and started to get up. But slipped on the old man's last precious vegetable.

"Noooo!"

A scream of pure horror snapped Naruto back to his senses; it vibrated his eardrums. He looked to see the damage he had caused; an elderly man was crying over the destruction of his pride and joy.

_Oops! Better get out of here before he notices. _Without a second thought, he slipped out of the sticky situation as fast as he could before it could get any worse.

_Yeah if it were my only sticky situation._ Naruto mulled over what had happened moments before his, um, _dynamic_ entry. _I guess ramen will have to wait_. With a heavy heart, the blonde jinchūriki made his way toward the Hokage tower.

He could hear the Fifth's voice as he neared the door. Naruto barged in, "Hey grandma, what's up?"

"Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you to refer to me as per my title?"

"When you stop being old," was going to be the response but Naruto stopped after he saw a rather murderous glare being sent his way.

"Now what do you want?" Tsunade asked before Naruto had a chance to make a dumber remark.

"Well…" The blonde jinchūriki lightly scratched his cheek before directing his electric blue eyes at the blonde medic ninja in front of him, "I was wondering if you could give me a physical or whatever."

"Why? What's the matter?" the Hokage's medical instincts kicked in.

Naruto got serious, well at least tried to, "Well at first it was only a headache, but then I started feeling something weird happening in my stomach. Then last night when I was eating dinner, my right hand stopped working for a couple of seconds."

As he continued explaining, his voice started escalating. "And just a few minutes ago, I was on my way to Ichiraku's when I slipped because my _chakra_ was acting _weird_!"

"Calm down, Naruto! When did this start?" Tsunade asked sternly.

Naruto replied in a voice calmer than earlier, "After my mission."

The Hokage thought it over for a couple of minutes before reaching a conclusion. She stood up and walked over to Naruto.

"I don't think this is a physical problem. You me told Sasuke had gone in your head, right? I think he might have caused some sort of reaction in your psychological state of mind."

"Well, I _did_ get a funny feeling when he looked inside my head with his Sharingan activated…"

Tsunade put her hand on Naruto's forehead and it started to glow a light green color. After a few moments of concentration, she finished with a grave look on her face. "Someone has sealed some of your memories."

"What? But I don't remember-err-not remembering?" He said looking perplexed.

"Well, the thing is someone went to great lengths to make sure you don't remember. So now the questions are who did it, and what are they trying to hide?"

After a few moments of silence, Naruto looked back at Tsunade. "Grandma Tsunade, can you try to bring back my memories?"

"Hm," She looked carefully at the teen before her. "I can try; it'll probably be easy since the incident with Sasuke seems to have triggered something."

He nodded, eyes glinting in determination, "Right! Let's do it!"

"Very well, but I should warn you, this _will_ hurt."

Naruto grinned a foxy grin and gave Tsunade a thumbs-up. "There is nothing that the great Naruto Uzumaki can't handle! Believe it!"

Tsunade gave a small chuckle before telling Naruto to close his eyes. As he did, he felt Tsunade's chakra in his head, which started to hurt but he ignored it. Tsunade sent her chakra to where Naruto's memories were being blocked. At that moment, blonde jinchūriki tried to imagine it as a locked door which kept his memories out and he tried to push it open.

With that exertion, Naruto started to feel dizzy but kept pushing; finally with one last big push his mind went white and his vision black.

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><p><strong>The Next Morning<strong>

"Naruto, are you awake? Naruto, answer me!" Tsunade was slightly alarmed after Naruto fell unconscious.

But she was expecting something like this to occur. She had checked his pulse and everything seemed to be all right; she looked at his chest rise up and down slowly. _I guess he fell asleep, not surprising. _She smiled; relieved to see he was fine.

The golden sunlight streaked through the window, warm and bright, causing the sleeping blonde to wake up. He was back in his apartment and Tsunade was sitting at his bedside.

"So, you're awake," she simply greeted him, although her relief could be clearly seen through her eyes.

"What happened?" Naruto asked in sleepy voice.

"We tried to obtain your sealed memories back but you fainted, gave me quite the scare. So, do you remember?" Naruto's face brightened when he remembered but it quickly became an array of emotions.

"Naruto, what is it? What wrong?" Tsunade's voice laced with worry similar to a mother hen, though her sternness was still present.

Naruto looked baffled, afraid, depressed, delighted and a whole lot of other emotions. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. His eyes watered causing his vision to blur. Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed then she pulled Naruto into a hug.

"It's okay you can tell me. I promise you'll be okay," she rubbed Naruto's back. After a few moments he relaxed and pulled out of the hug.

"Do you remember?" Tsunade looked at Naruto with an underlying concern within her eyes. His eyes were large and full of emotion once again.

"Yes."

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><p><em><strong>Please Review~<strong>_


	2. Chibi Naruto

**Chapter 2: Chibi Naruto**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Tsunade helps Naruto recover his sealed memories. Naruto blacks out. He wakes up the next morning and remembers everything.

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><p>Naruto remembered what had been sealed from him. Tsunade looked at the boy. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"<p>

Naruto thought for a few moments and nodded his head in agreement.

"Well it's like this…"

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><p><strong>Naruto's Flashback Begins<strong>

"Stupid Pervy Sage, sending me to do all the work while he just sits and reads his perverted books!" Naruto complained.

_Why do I have to do _all_ the work?_ He thought to himself as he spotted a bush full of big blue ripe blueberries. He walked over and picked one, popping it into his mouth.

"Mmm… thish isz goud," Naruto talked with his mouth full.

After becoming satisfied by the taste, he took off his jacket and started gathering the berries into it. When it went as full as it could get, Naruto started walking back to the temple. It had been about a year since he had left Konoha.

Because of that, he had missed his home every day, or more specifically, Ichiraku Ramen. Currently, Jiraiya and Naruto were staying at an abandoned temple a day away from the Hidden Rain Village's borders.

Naruto had asked why they didn't just go to the village for the night. But Jiraiya had refused, saying something about not having enough cash. _I know he's lying. I saw his wallet stuffed only yesterday_. Naruto grumbled to himself.

Lost in his train of thought, he didn't see the puddle in front of him. Unfortunately for him, he stepped into it and slipped. _The blueberries! _Being too caught up in trying to save them, the knuckleheaded ninja fell into the puddle.

After processing what had happened, Naruto got up and growled in frustration. Luckily, the berries were okay. He however, the carrier, was not. He was covered in strange ice-blue colored warm water.

When Naruto returned, Jiraiya had a wide grin on his face, which quickly disappeared when he looked at his apprentice's zombie-like face.

"Whoa kid! You okay?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto didn't even have enough energy to reply and had begun to fall. Fortunately, the Toad Sannin caught him before he fell on his face.

Immediately after catching him, Jiraiya checked Naruto for any signs of battle. But he seemed okay. _If only Tsunade were here_. The Toad Sage thought to himself. But the next closest thing to a medic was a well-known herbalist who lived in the mountains.

"The only problem is, should I leave Naruto alone or not?" the Sannin pondered for a while. "Well, it's not as if he'll get attacked out here anyway. This place has been deserted for quite a while now. Only a high level shinobi would be able to find it."

With that in mind, he finally decided to leave Naruto alone for a few nights. _There aren't many ninja who ever come here, so what are the chances?_

Jiraiya went out and acquired enough food for Naruto to last him a week, and put it next to him—in case he woke up but couldn't get up.

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><p>"I hope whoever is sneaking about is strong. Samehada's hungry and these intruders will make an excellent meal," a blue shark-faced man grinned at his partner.<p>

Itachi Uchiha looked at the ground, noticing that the plants had been smashed. They looked as if someone had sped by here in a hurry.

"According to these tracks, whoever was here left a couple of hours ago. They were coming from that direction." Itachi pointed south and headed there.

Kisame followed him. "Shouldn't we be heading the other way?"

Itachi looked at his partner, Sharingan boring through him. "It's no use trying to follow him or her. They weren't close enough to actually know of the Akatsuki's hideout. But just to be on the safe side, we should check to see where he or she was staying. It might give us some clues about them."

When it looked like Kisame was about to question him, he continued. "There was dry dust on the ground, which can only be found near an old abandoned temple not too far from here."

Itachi told his partner with finality, implying that there should be no questions asked. End of discussion.

Kisame looked surprised. "Temple? I guess we now know why you're the brains of this team and I'm the brawn."

Itachi merely grunted, "Hn".

Soon after they arrived at their destination, Kisame went to look around. "When you said this place is old, you weren't kidding."

Since Itachi's Sharingan was activated, he saw an oddly shaped chakra; someone was lying down, curled up. Judging by the size he could tell it was a child.

Once he had searched their surroundings, he signaled Kisame and they entered the room, ready for battle. But what they saw surprised them. There was a little boy around the age of five. He had blonde hair, fair skin and whiskers. He was in a too big orange jacket, blue shirt, and orange pants.

Itachi and Kisame were shocked, although Itachi didn't show it as much. But there was no doubt about it. They were looking at Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchūriki of the 9 tails.

"Um, Itachi, do you see a chibi Kyūbi container?"

Before Itachi had a chance to respond, Naruto woke up. He looked with curious large blue eyes at the man before him. There was a dark-haired man with black eyes—his Sharingan was deactivated because he didn't want to scare the kid—wearing a black cloak with red clouds embedded on it.

Looking at the dark-haired man, Naruto's eyes widened as realization hit him. Itachi bent down on his knees to reach Naruto's height.

"Naruto?"

The little boy's face lit up as his suspicions were confirmed. With his joy, he tackled Itachi into a hug.

"Daddy!"

Kisame's eyes were like saucers and his jaw dropped to the floor, while Itachi's face portrayed barely suppressed shock.

Naruto looked over Itachi's shoulder to see a shark with its sharp pointed teeth, and its beady little soul-less and cold black eyes staring at him. He let out a loud scream comparable to a girl in a horror movie as he took in Kisame's appearance.

"Ahhhhhh! No don't eat me! I'm not yummy!"

Itachi finally snapped out of his stupor and looked to see Naruto trembling in his arms. He turned back to see Kisame whose mouth was hanging wide open, perfectly resembling an idiot.

"It's okay Naruto, he won't hurt you," Itachi tried to calm the little boy down.

"You- you promise?"

"Yes, now stop crying because I won't let him."

Itachi didn't know what to think as Naruto looked up at him with adoration in his eyes. He felt his stomach twist up. Naruto had the same look in his eyes which Sasuke used to have.

"Kisame, close your mouth. You look ridiculous." Itachi picked Naruto up in his arms and turned to look at his partner. "It's time to head back."

The swordsman immediately understood that Itachi had decided to go with the 'daddy' thing just because the little brat would come with them willingly if he did.

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><p>The Akatsuki pair plus Naruto were headed towards the border. Naruto couldn't resist shivering, since he was only wearing his old blue shirt, which went down to his knees because his old clothes were too big for him.<p>

Itachi stopped on the next branch as he noted how Naruto's skin was becoming colder and had started to shiver. He gestured Kisame to hold the little blond boy.

"No daddy, I want to stay with you," Naruto pouted, not wanting to be near Kisame.

"I know but it's only for a moment," said Itachi.

He looked at his 'son' who continued pouting but relented. As the blue-skinned man took Naruto from Itachi's arms, it was _so _obvious how the swordsman was just as _excited_ as Naruto to be with him.

While the shrunken ninja was in the arms of Kisame, Itachi unbuttoned his cloak then took Naruto back into his arms. He buttoned it back up again and proceeded to pull his arms in so they were under the cloak holding Naruto, who snuggled in closer to the warmth. "Better?"

Naruto smiled, "Mm-hm."

"Are you hungry?" Itachi asked Naruto.

"Yeah I'm really hungry! Can we have some ramen? Please?"

"Very well, there is a little restaurant close by, we'll go there. But I doubt they serve ramen." Naruto pouted but was too hungry to be picky. Itachi's lips curved upwards a little as he regarded the child in his arms.

Meanwhile, Kisame was having a difficult time believing what he was seeing. _Is this really Itachi? He's acting so... so father like. _

They arrived shortly and had dinner. Soon, they entered the village and went to the tallest tower, which sat at the center of the village, the base of the Akatsuki.

"I don't think it's a good idea to just walk in and take the brat for the other members to see. Let's check in with Leader Pain first," Kisame looked at his partner and Itachi nodded.

"Well, I have to go meet Hidan so see ya," Kisame lied and fled.

Itachi slightly rolled his eyes at the dust cloud where his partner had stood only a few moments earlier. He wasn't surprised really; no one had seen the leader but had held respect for the man. That is how it should be since he was the leader of an S-ranked organization.

The Uchiha had been told the only reason the Akatsuki members were allowed to go to the top of the tower to the Leader's office was in case of an emergency. This counted as one, right?

As Itachi made his way to the top, his arms started to grow tired since he'd been carrying the boy nonstop. Right now, Naruto was asleep and would occasionally mutter about ramen, which would always cause Itachi to smile.

Once he stopped in front of the door, a neutral mask replaced his smile as he knocked. Itachi was a little curious to see what his leader looked like. He was probably the first person to see what Pain looked like, well except for his partner Konan. She was, after all, one of the village's leaders.

"Come in."

The voice caused Itachi to snap out of his musings, and with his naturally calm demeanor, he opened the door and walked in.

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><p><em><strong>Please Review~<strong>_


	3. Akatsuki Leader: Pain

**Chapter 3: Akatsuki Leader: Pain**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**Previously:** Naruto gets sick. Jiraiya leaves to get the help for Naruto. Itachi and Kisame find a 5 year old Naruto. Itachi takes Naruto to see Pain.

_**Thanks to **_Tachi Kagahara_** and **_WraithReaper_ **for taking the time to comment on my story. It is my first fanfic and I really appreciate it. **_

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><p>Itachi composed his face into a neutral expression and walked in. The room was as big as the Hokage's office. The walls were dark blue; there were two big cabinets on his left and right side. Also there were three chairs, a dark brown desk and a chair occupied b ywhom Itachi assumed was Pain.<p>

The man had ginger-colored orange hair and orange-brown eyes. But that was not what drew Itachi's attention to the man. It was the fact that he had multiple piercings in his face.

There were a total of 22, what appeared to be little rods, on his face. On his nose he had six (three on each side) and two on his lips, which kind of looked like fangs. There were six piercing and a tiny rod in both of his ears. He had red painted nails and the 'Zero' ring symbolizing leadership.

Pain broke the silence. "I hope whatever reason you're here is important?"

Even though he knew Itachi was not the disrespectful type who'd just waltz in without a good reason.

"While on our mission to find the intruders, Kisame and I came upon on a little boy. We found him by himself in the old temple."

Pain wasn't surprised that Itachi knew of the ancient place's existence. "But why bring him here?"

"Because he is the 9 tails jinchūriki," Itachi unbuttoned his cloak to show a sleeping blonde with whiskers on his face.

Pain eyed chibi Naruto. "Isn't he supposed to be at least 14 by now? How do you know it's him?"

"Because he was found in a jumpsuit too big for his age, it was bright orange and blue, only Naruto has such…attire." Itachi wasn't sure you could call the orange eye sore clothing.

"Every jinchūriki has some mark that identifies what bijū they hold. The Shukaku containers have been known to have deep circle under their eyes because of lack of sleep."

Nagato saw through the Deva path's eyes and took a look at Naruto who was smiling in his sleep. He couldn't shake the resemblance the boy shared with Yahiko. Both smiled in their sleep and it was the same smile too.

He thought for a few moments before making his decision. "We can't extract the Kyūbi from the kid right now. Since he holds the demon with the most tails his turn will be last. Also, I will have to check to see if his seal has been affected. I'll have someone get some fitting clothes for him since we don't know how long the boy will stay this age."

Itachi nodded, wondering how Naruto ended up as a kid.

"For now you are in charge of his well being. Make sure he gets what he needs and that he stays out of trouble. If you fail to keep him under control you will be punished. Understand?" Pain's tone left no room for questions or objections.

"I understand," Itachi nodded.

"Take him to your room and I will have you called later today." Pain dismissed him.

Itachi bowed his head in understanding and left. When he stepped out he exhaled in somewhat relief. On one hand he was glad he could watch out for the Fourth Hokage's son. But on the other hand he didn't want to be reminded about Sasuke's stolen childhood.

As Itachi got onto the main floor he could sense the others all crowed in the living room. Itachi rolled his eyes; sometimes they were worse than gossiping fangirls. Weren't they supposed to be tough and scary? They are S-rank criminals for crying out loud.

No doubt they were waiting to ambush him and demand him to spill every detail of their enigmatic leader. Itachi was most definitely not looking forward to that. So he very quietly snuck into his room and locked the door behind him. The Uchicha then put Naruto, who was starting to wake up, under the comfortor The chibi jinchūriki looked sleepily at his 'daddy.'

"You can go back to sleep now Naruto. I'll wake you up for dinner, alright?"

Naruto muttered okay and fell back asleep. Itachi took off his cloak, weapon pouch, and forehead protector. He sighed as he made his way to the other members. It would be better if he went and talked to them alone rather having them knock his door down and scaring Naruto.

"What is taking him so long, yeah?" Asked a rather inpatient blonde artist. Deidara never thought he'd ever live to see the day he was looking forward to seeing the irritating Uchiha jerk.

Sasori didn't really care much about what their leader looked like. He was one of the oldest members of the Akatsuki and never cared about the leader's appearance. So why start now? _I'd prefer to be finalizing my new puppet but if I'm not here now the brat will interrupt me later and take even more time 'filling' me in. _

"When is he going to get here?" Hidan complained, scowling in irritation.

His partner glared at him for repeating the same thing for the 5th time in a row in the last minute. "He'll be here 5 minutes after you stop asking!"

They were all at the training field arguing about what was to be done about the damage caused to the place by Deidara and his so-called art. That was when Kisame had come in grinning like a fool. He'd started talking to them about his and Itachi's latest mission about finding some little kid. Of course nobody was listening.

That is until he said, "Since this situation counts as an emergency, Itachi went to see Leader Pain. He should be returning in a few minutes."

This news had gotten everyone's attention enough to forget about their argument and rush back to the tower, ready to fire Itachi with questions. And that led them to now, with Hidan-

"When is he going to get here?"

Kakuzu was just about ready to slice the stupid immortal's head off with his own scythe when Itachi walked in.

"One condition, Hidan will not swear for as long as I say so," Itachi deadpanned.

All eyes turned toward to the world's most foul mouthed man. Itachi didn't want Hidan's colorful language poisoning Naruto's innocent mind. This way the others would also pressure Hidan to keep his mouth shut according to Itachi's terms.

"What? Why the f-?"

But he got interrupted by the death glares being sent his way by some of the other members. They were too close to finding out their leader's identity only to be kept secret because Hidan couldn't watch his language.

"Hidan if you don't watch your _colorful language_ then I'll demonstrate my _colorful art_ on your room, yeah!" Deidara growled. He knew Pain had threatened to punish Hidan if any more property was damaged because of him.

"Alright, alright," Hidan agreed unhappily. And they all turned toward Itachi expectantly.

"Tall, Orange ginger-colored hair, orange-brown eyes and 22 piercing on his face," Itachi stated, turned heel, and headed out.

"Wait? The leader of the most feared S-ranked organizations has _orange_ hair?" Hidan asked disbelieving what he had heard. The rest of the Akatsuki were also surprised.

"Did he say 22 piercing on his _face_?" Kisame tried to image having nearly two dozen piercing on a man's face. Was that even possible?

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><p>Naruto woke up and yawned. He stretched and took in his surrounding looking for his daddy. It was a bedroom with only one high window on the wall behind him, dark blue walls, tan carpet, a bathroom on the right side of the room and a closet to its left.<p>

On the upper left side of the room there was a chair and a work desk with some scrolls, brushes, and a lamp on it. Naruto was in a king sized bed right now with cream colored pillows and a comforter. Next to the bed was a dark chocolate brown table that had a lamp and a clock that read 5:48.

Itachi walked into the room to see Naruto looking around curiously. "You're awake."

Naruto's head snapped up to the door to see Itachi standing there with a tray full of food.

He was no longer wearing the Akatsuki cloak so a blue V-shaped shirt, with a white slash around the waist, was visible. He had body mesh underneath, blue pants, white legwarmers and a necklace with three circles in it. Naruto's face lit up with a smile and ran to hug Itachi, but was too tangled in the sheets.

Itachi watched Naruto struggle trying to get out of bed with a smile on his face. He used to think his bed was possessed, back when he was still innocent. Finally when Naruto was free he ran toward Itachi, who had somehow managed not to drop the food he was holding.

Itachi smiled at Naruto. "Are you hungry? I brought food."

"Yeah," Naruto dragged him by the hand back to the bed and crawled into Itachi's lap when he sat down.

Itachi looked at Naruto. He was surprised since he was not used to this sort of thing. Even Sasuke never used to do this. But then again, his little brother didn't want their father to think badly of him.

Naruto snapped him out of thoughts and looked at him expectantly, "Daddy?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "Naruto you're old enough to eat by yourself you know."

The chibi jinchūriki made the best puppy dog face he can, "Pwwweeeaaassseee?"

He just looked so innocent that you could find Naruto's face in the dictionary next to the definition of the word.

Itachi signed deciding it was not worth it to argue with a 5 year old. He made sure the others weren't close by. The last thing he wanted right now to happen was risk someone walking in on him feeding a little kid sitting on his lap. Naruto noticed something as he looks at Itachi's hand.

"Daddy, why were you and Mr. Fish wearing the same jacket thingy? I like your ring, can I have it? Why are you wearing purple nail polish?"

Naruto asked in one breath. Itachi smiled at the 'Mr. Fish' part. He paused before answering. _I can't tell him the reason we wear the cloak is because it represents the bloodshed, death, and effects of war._ He decided to compromise. "We wear it because it offers good protection against the weather."

Well it was true.

"The rings let us communicate over far distances and are unique to each of us. They are made specifically for us so no, you can't have mine."

Naruto pouted. "Some of the Akatsuki members have subordinates who are somewhat a part of Akatsuki. So only the strongest and most recognized ones wear nail polish."

Or so he believed. Itachi himself wasn't really sure why.

"Then I'll get strong like you so I can get my own ring. But can it be bright orange? Same with the nail polish!" Naruto grinned excitedly.

"Maybe later, but now you eat," Itachi avoided the topic.

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><p>After Naruto finished eating, or more specifically, Itachi finished feeding him, he started exploring the room. Itachi put the tray on the table and called Naruto to him.<p>

"Naruto," the chibi jinchūriki came back to Itachi's lap. "From now on you'll be staying here with me. I want you to know that you're not allowed to leave the base or go to the top floor."

"But why can't I? I want to go explore." He whined.

"I know you want to. But if you do that then I'll have to leave and someone else will look after you."

Chibi Naruto's eyes widen in alarm and he hugged Itachi. "No I don't want to leave you daddy. I won't go anywhere."

Itachi looked at the little kid clinging to him like his life depended on it. It felt weird. He hadn't really been hugged like that since Sasuke was a little kid. Even though it had sometimes been a little irritating it was still nice.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, you'll also have to behave yourself because if I catch you causing trouble I'll have to punish you, okay?" He said sternly.

"Okay, daddy." Naruto smiled innocently.

Itachi had noticed there was a scroll lying on the desk. He definitely hadn't put it there. He assumed it must be the clothes Pain had said he would have delivered. He got up to get the scroll while Naruto explored the room again. It was as he thought. When the scroll was opened several pairs of clothing covered the bed.

"Naruto, there are some clothes here for you. What would you like to wear?"

Naruto was still wearing his super big blue shirt. He ran over to Itachi and looked at his new clothes. Finally he got to change into something decent.

There were 5 pairs of ninja pants one of each color: dark blue, black, grey, dark green and a pair similar to the ones the male Akatsuki members wore. There were 4 pairs of shorts: orange, tan, navy blue and forest green. Also a number of shirts shirts white, blue, orange, yellow and red ranging from light to dark. There were also two jackets, one black and one blue, similar to the one he wears in Shippuden but thinner, and lastly 3 pairs of ninja sandals: black, blue and forest green.

Naruto picked out dark blue ninja pants, dark green shirt, and blue ninja sandals. "I want to wear this daddy."

Then he ran into the bathroom to change into his new clothes.

Itachi had a little smile on his face. He had noticed that he this would usually happen whenever Naruto called him 'daddy.' It gave him a warm feeling inside.

"Done," Naruto came back and showed Itachi how he looked.

"You look very nice Naruto." Making the chibi Naruto grin happily, obviously this was what he had wanted to hear.

_He looks so adorable_. Itachi had an amused look on his face. He got on his knees and looks at the little blonde. "Naruto, we are going to go the top floor to see someone. I want you to promise me you'll behave yourself."

Naruto looked puzzled, "I thought you said not to go to the top floor?"

"Yes I did," Itachi nodded, "But you can go if I'm with you."

"Okay," Naruto nodded understanding. There was knocking at the door and Itachi went to open it. Konan, the only female member of the Akatsuki, was on the other side. _She must be the messenger._

Naruto came up behind Itachi and hid behinds his legs. He saw a pretty blue-haired lady with amber colored eyes and a paper rose in her hair.

"Itachi, Pain has summoned you," Konan relayed her message and teleported out of there.

Itachi looked at Naruto and explained to him. "Naruto, we are going to see the leader of this village. He is the one who got you your clothes so be polite."

_If he got me the nice clothes and he's friends with daddy then he can't be bad. _Naruto thought to himself. "Okay, I'll be good."

Itachi picked Naruto up so they could make faster time reaching the Leader's office. He put Naruto down when they were standing in front of the door. Itachi knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in."

He opened the door and walked in for the second time that day. Except this time his 'chibi son' was with him. _Hm, I'm starting to associate the word chibi with Naruto a lot now. Maybe it could be his nickname?_ Itachi put all that behind him as he waited for his Leader to speak.

Naruto stared at the ginger-haired man shamelessly. He knew he told his daddy he would behave, but he could not help but stare. The guy had like 100s of piercing on his face.

Pain and Itachi looked at Naruto waiting for a reaction. _Maybe I should have prepared Naruto beforehand._

Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers. "That is… you are so… it's so… Awesome!"

He grinned cheekily. This surprised the older men since this was not the reaction they were expecting. _He looks so much like Yahiko._ But Nagato ignored the similarity. Pain looked at Naruto, "Go ahead and sit on the desk."

Naruto hesitated and looked at Itachi who inclined his head towards Pain.

He walked over, climbed a chair, and then climbed on to the desk and turned his upper body towards Pain.

Pain got up from his desk and walked to stand in front of Naruto so he didn't have to turn around. "I am Pain and I am the leader of this village and this organization, Akatsuki."

"Um, okay," Naruto stated blankly.

"Take of your shirt," Pain ordered.

Naruto got confused but saw Itachi nodding his head as a sign of yes. He did what Pain asked. He lifted his shirt over his head and put it next to him.

"Can you try and use your chakra?" Pain asked.

Naruto tried but failed.

"This will hurt a little so brace yourself," Pain warned Naruto, whose eyes widened in fear.

Itachi came up next to him and reassured him. "Don't worry Naruto it'll only be a second."

"Sure," Naruto took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. _Daddy won't let anything happen to me. I'll be okay._

"Ready?"

Naruto nodded his head up and down. Pain put his chakra into his finger tips and places them on Naruto's stomach. The blonde jinchūriki's face pinched in pain but true to Itachi's words it only lasted a second.

Naruto breathed in and out slowly and waited for Pain to finish. Nagato had never actually studied to become a sealing jutsu master but had read a book on it once. He had thought it might be useful. Surprisingly, even though seals were supposed to be complicated, they had come to him naturally. Meanwhile Naruto looked surprised at the wired design on his stomach. _Whoa, it's kind of cool._

"I thought as much." Pain retracted his arm and straightened up. "We will definitely have to wait because it seems whatever happened to him has affected the seal somehow. It will be near impossible to break. But we know for a fact it weakens because of his emotions whenever he draws on the Kyūbi's power."

Pain went back to his chair and addressed Itachi. "You are to continue to look after him unless I say so otherwise. You two may leave now."

Naruto quietly put his shirt back on and left with the Uchiha. Itachi followed Naruto out the door and noticed how quiet he had gotten. _It's probably from meeting Pain._ But neither Pain nor Itachi had thought Naruto could understand what they were talking about. He was only 5 years old. It hadn't occurred to them that Naruto might know about the Kyūbi.

_Kyūbi? Daddy was told to look after me? Does that mean he doesn't really care about me?_ Naruto stared at ground with watery eyes. It's_ just orders? Am I a burden to him? Does he even want to do this? _

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><p><em><strong>Please Review~<strong>_


	4. Explanations

**Chapter 4: Explanations**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously:** Pain puts Itachi in charge of Naruto's well-being. The Akatsuki find out what Pain looks like. Naruto meets the Akatsuki. Pain concludes that the Kyūbi cannot be extracted from Naruto yet. Naruto thinks he is a burden to Itachi.

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><p>Naruto and Itachi were walking back to their room. <em>He's quiet, not that I'm complaining or anything But Naruto's too quiet…okay now I'm beginning to miss his usual loud self. _Itachi wondered.

When they got back to their room they saw someone had been there. _Well that was fast._ Itachi raised an eyebrow.

The king sized bed had been replaced. Now in its place were two smaller beds. The one on the left was baby blue and white with a checker board design comforter. The one on the right was a navy blue and white with wave like design comforter.

There were two coffee tables, just like the one that was next to the king sized bed. They both had pale yellow lamps that went beautifully with the dark smooth chocolate like surface of the tables. Each table also held a black clock that read 10:44 o'clock in the afternoon.

Naruto walked towards the baby blue bed, sat down and stared at his feet. Itachi looked at Naruto unsure of what to say.

_He must be mad about not being allowed to explore the hideout and the village_. Seconds pass by slowly. _  
><em>

Itachi walked over to the blonde. "Naruto, we're going to meet the rest of the Akatsuki members, okay?"

Naruto just nodded and got off the bed. Itachi headed out the door and walked to the living room with Naruto in toe. The room had no windows. There were two stand-up lamps in each corner just like the ones their room. The Akatsuki living room had cherry brown walls that surrounded a big Americano brown couch with two smaller ones with the same color to both of its sides.

The furniture made a rectangle around a glass table. The table itself was rectangular in shape with four silver colored legs. It was on a cherry brown rug. It was a gorgeous Gul piece with a geometric design element, octagon in shape and set in rows.

The Akatsuki members were doing their own thing when Naruto and Itachi came in.

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><p>Pain stood at the only window of the tower looking over the village as he thought over the recent events of the day. This view had often helped him sort his thoughts. Even though it was near afternoon, the sky was full of dull melancholy clouds. The sound of a never ending rain shower echoed throughout the entire village as cool mist and fog whisked the wet and damp ground.<p>

_I thought it was only a legend but that does not seem to be the case now._ Nagato looked over the village through the Deva Path's eyes and remembered visiting the ancient temple.

He had gone with Yahiko to see if the place was a good new hideout for the Akatsuki seeing that they had grown too big. When they had got there it was immediately decided that the place was not very stable. There was a possibility it might collapse under the weight of the members.

But Yahiko had insisted that they at least look around to see if they could find clues about more temples like this. They might be more stable than this one. Nagato knew it was an excuse to go explore. Yahiko used to want to go on treasure hunts when they were little. He thought they might find some ancient treasure that would give them the power to change the world.

Yahiko and Nagato had found a secret passage under the temple thanks to Nagato's Rinnegan. It would have taken both a Byakugan and a Sharingan user to locate it. It was far too deep below the ground and laced with heavy genjutsu to make sure it wouldn't be discovered too easily.

At the end of the hallway underground there was a room with bare walls, or that's what Yahiko saw. But the Rinnegan wielder had been able to see the secret writing.

It stated the story of the Sage of Six Paths and how he had become the savior of the world. But most of the wall had fallen apart and it was hard to tell exactly _what_ had the Sage saved them from. They didn't have the time to decipher what it said. It was decided that they would come back later if they had the time. But they never returned.

The writing on the wall had stated: R.k.d. .n h.s s.v.d .s fr.m th. .v.l j.b.. H. h.s .mpr.s.n.d .t .n .lf .nd .t .n th. M..n .n h.s d..th b.d.

The only part Nagato had been able to read was that there used to be a 'Pool of Life' there near the temple. It is said that whoever drank from this pool could stay young forever. But the Sage had known that eternal youth was only a curse. However the temptation would be too great for the people to resist. So he had asked for its destruction.

_But of course whoever was supposed to carry out the job had an impure heart like all humans and had secretly kept a stash hidden for himself. _Nagato thought without surprise.

_It's too bad for him the temple was hit with an earthquake that day and all the inhabitants had to leave. Since the Kyūbi jinchūriki has de-aged I guess that wasn't just a story after all._ Nagato frowned. _But if that much of the story is true...I wonder if _that_ part is also true…_

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><p><em>I hope the brat is alright. Tsunade will castrate me if something happens to him.<em> Jiraiya shivers at the thought. _Just a day more and I'll reach the place where that herbalist lives._

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><p>The Akatsuki members looked up to see Itachi come in with a little boy. Hidan looked at chibi Naruto and grinned widely. "Aw, Itachi, it's so nice of you to provide me with a sacrifice for Lord Jashin."<p>

The one called 'Hidan' had fair skin with medium length silver hair, and beautiful violet-purple colored eyes. He was wearing the usual blue pants and sandals. However he was not wearing a shirt, which gave people a plain view of his chest. Around his neck was a necklace of a straight triangle in the middle of a circle. Hidan wore dark green nail polish and an orange Akatsuki ring with the kanji for 'Three.' It was on his left index finger. He was currently polishing his triple bladed red scythe.

Naruto's eyes widened in fear and he ducked behind Itachi. He clutched Itachi's leg for dear life, afraid of the Jashinist, his dilemma forgotten.

Hidan decided since he couldn't swear he would make Itachi suffer as much as he possibly could for this. The Uchiha looked at the immortal calmly. "Hidan, I suggest that you behave yourself because Leader Pain has said that no harm is to come to Naruto."

"Like I'm afraid of him in the first place," the immortal sneered arrogantly. He was the only member who didn't respect the leader. Then again Hidan didn't respect anyone but his Lord Jashin.

"Sure," Deidara rolled his eyes.

"You got that right you speech impedimenting heathen." Hidan growled.

"First of all 'impedimenting' is not a word. Second, I do not have a speech impediment you pansy, yeah!" Deidara snarled.

But before it got any worse Kakuzu interpreted. "Hidan we have a mission to go to."

Kakuzu was dressed in Akatsuki garb. He wore blue pants a white hood and black mask. He had dark skin and pupil less green eyes and red scleroses. Like Hidan he wore dark green nail polish and an Akatsuki ring for 'North' on his left middle finger.

Hidan glared at Kakuzu and then at Deidara. "You got lucky… this time."

The zombie combo walked out the room. Itachi sighed while Naruto loosened his grip in relief. The others turned back to Itachi and Naruto who gripped his daddy tightly again, afraid they might hurt him.

Sasori decided he had better things to do. "I am Sasori of the Red Sand and if you don't want to be turned into a puppet then I suggest you stay out of my stuff."

Naruto looked at Sasori. He looked like a giant scorpion wearing the Akatsuki cloak and has a big metal tail and creepy mask. The puppeteer turned and left.

Deidara went next. "I'm Deidara and don't even think about touching my art or else."

He had long blonde hair that he wore in a pony tail and one visible sky blue eye_. _The left eye was covered by Deidara's hair. He was wearing a V-shaped midriff blue shirt with mesh armor underneath. And blue pants, white leg warmers, stirrups and sandals. The blonde teen wore black nail polish on his finger and toe nails.

On his right index finger was an Akatsuki ring, teal in color, with the kanji for 'Blue' or 'Green.' But the most distinctive thing about Deidara was that he had two mouths on the palm of his hands.

"My name's Kisame and I am not a shark!" The blue-faced man grinned rather widely showing a full set of sharp triangular pointy teeth.

He was muscular and the tallest member of the organization. He had blue grey skin, tiny white eyes with a black dot, his pupil, in the middle. Kisame had facial markings under his eyes similar to a fish's gills and real gills on his shoulders. Much like the other Swordsmen of the Mist he had a dark sleeveless shirt with matching blue pants.

He wore the standard leg warmers of the organization. Kisame had dark purple nail polish and a yellow Akatsuki ring on his left ring finger with the kanji for 'South.'

Deidara and Kisame turned back to whatever they were doing. Itachi motioned for Naruto to follow him. The chibi jinchūriki stayed close to Itachi, not wanting to be left alone surrounded by all those maniacs.

"This is the kitchen," Itachi showed Naruto where what was.

The kitchen was a rectangular in shape with light green square tiles. There was a white fridge with sliver handles on the left side of the room, a silver sink in the front, and next to it was a white dish washing machine.

The counter top was made of gray and white granite with cupboards below it and above it going from one side of the room to the other. In the middle of the room was a dark brown rectangular table of oak with six chairs. Two on the sides and one at each end, all made from oak.

While Naruto explored the kitchen Itachi made lunch. The two ate their sandwiches in quiet. The duo came back to their room and Itachi went over to his work table while Naruto decided to take an afternoon nap. He was only 5 years old.

Naruto spent the rest of the day in the living room. He was allowed to now since he had met the other members, who were busy with their hobbies, training or were out on a mission.

After dinner that night, Naruto went back to their room to change. He slipped into white pajamas and a cute little walrus night cap, a miniature version of the ones 12 year old Naruto wore. He slipped under the sheets and waited for sleep. His thoughts kept troubling him. _No! Think about boring stuff. Or count sheep_. Naruto brainstormed ways to get to sleep faster. _Think about sitting alone on a nice day with nothing to do._

Itachi walked into the room to see Naruto already changed and asleep. He quickly changed and brushed his teeth.

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><p><strong>Naruto's Dream<strong>

It was a warm, bright day with blue skies and a golden sun smiled at the children in the playground. Little Naruto ran to the sandbox to play with the other kids, but their parents pulled them away from him.

It confused the little blonde boy and he looked around to see the sun setting. At first it was really beautiful with all the cool shades of orange bouncing of the buildings and people. Unfortunately it got dark and cold and Naruto had no idea where to go. He went to the swings and waited for his parents to come pick him up.

But nobody came. So Naruto decided to go over to where it was crowded and ask if anyone knew where he lived. Little Naruto walked to the market place and up to a lady in a pretty pink kimono.

"Um, hello? Do you know where my mommy and daddy are?" But she ignored him and walked away.

Naruto knew that these people could see him and hear him, but didn't understand why they wouldn't talk to him. Or why do they acted as if he was not there, pretended he was invisible like a ghost. All of a sudden the entire street got empty; darkness surrounded the scared chibi blond. Naruto felt lonely, so much like he had never felt.

_Why? Why me? Did I do something wrong? Why won't they look at me? I'm so lonely. Where are my mommy and daddy? Why doesn't anyone care about me? What purpose do I have in life? _These questions hit Naruto like a ton bricks and he couldn't move. It was as if these questions had been going through his mind for years. These questions sounded like they were coming from an older Naruto.

Just as quickly as these questions had come they were gone. Naruto was sitting alone. It was too quiet with only gray everywhere. A single thought filled Naruto's mind. _I'm so lonely._

Naruto cried as the sentence echoed through his mind for what felt like years of his life.

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><p><strong>In Reality<strong>

Itachi woke to the sound of someone whimpering. He got up, walked to Naruto's bedside and turned on the lamp. Naruto was twisting and turning in his sleep. _He must be having a nightmare._

Itachi held Naruto by the shoulders and gently shook him, "Naruto? Wake up."

Naruto's eyes opened up wide and full of tears and he looked around frantically.

"It was only a bad dream. You don't have to be scared." The little boy looks at Itachi and hugged him, who instinctively put him arms around him.

Itachi couldn't understand what Naruto was saying. His face was buried into Itachi chest and was crying and making no sense. The Uchiha stayed in Naruto's bed and pulled the shaking boy onto his lap.

"It's okay Naruto. Don't be scared. I'm here and I'll protect you." Itachi tried to calm the crying boy. He was surprised at himself. He had said something similar to an infant Sasuke on the day the Kyūbi had attacked. After a few minutes Naruto finally calmed down.

"Do you want to tell me about your dream?" Itachi asked softly. Naruto didn't want to think about it anymore but told Itachi anyway.

After Naruto finished explaining he looked like he was about to cry again so Itachi pulled him into a hug and gently rocked him_. I know the life of a jinchūriki is hard, but to be one at such a young age…Other than Naruto only the current Kazekage was made a jinchūriki when he was a newborn. He lost his sense of reason but found his way back. It's only reasonable. But Naruto was never like that. He was always smiling and pulling pranks. He must have had so many nights like this. I wonder how he could bear it. But then again he is his mother's son._

Naruto wondered why Itachi was acting like this. He was confused but happy. _I don't care if he was told to care for me. As long as daddy doesn't leave I'll be okay… but still…_Naruto looked up at Itachi hesitantly.

"You know you can tell me anything you want. I promise I won't get mad," Itachi assured Naruto.

"When you were talking to that carrot-top man he said you have to keep looking after me. Does that mean you didn't actually want to look after me but had to because you were told to? And the kee-u-bee part, am I that big fox?"

Itachi at first chuckled inwardly at the 'carrot-top man.' But he was surprised to hear that Naruto understood the conversation between him and Pain. _This must be why he was so quiet. He thinks he's the Kyūbi and that he's a burden to me._

"Naruto, I want to tell you two very important things. One, you are _not_ a burden to me. I take care of you because I want to not because someone is forcing me to. Two, you are Naruto Uzumaki, the jailor of the Kyūbi, not the demon itself," Itachi stated firmly.

Naruto was so relieved that he completely forgot about his nightmare. "But how do you know of the Kyūbi?"

"Well, the only memory that I have before you found me was looking at a really big orange fox inside a cage calling me a foolish little mortal."

Itachi chuckled. "Oh and one more thing, don't ever refer to Leader Pain as 'that carrot-top man' in front of anyone."

"So can I call him 'the carrot-top man?'" He asked innocently.

"What's the difference?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I call him 'the' and not 'that.'" Naruto pointed out.

"It's still no."

Naruto pouted and Itachi just shook his head smiling. Chibi Naruto decided to call Pain 'Uncle Carrot-Top.' He didn't plan on telling his daddy about this so Itachi couldn't _not _allow him to either.

Itachi noticed Naruto grinning really big while spacing out. _Why do I have a feeling he's up to no good? _He shook the feeling and pulled the comforter up to cover himself and Naruto.

"Time to go to bed," Itachi resisted the urge to yawn.

Naruto came back to reality and worried for a second about another nightmare. But he quickly dismissed it after noticing that Itachi wasn't going anywhere. After that they both slept a dreamless and peaceful sleep for the night.

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><p>It was a dark cave lit using fire torches; droplets of ice cold water hit the floor with a <em>split<em>. Sounds of fighting could be heard echoing throughout the hallway. Pale yellow eyes watch as an injured ninja limped his way to where the man with the yellow eyes was seated.

"L-lord O-Orochimaru, I h-have v-very i-important n-news t-to d-deliver," the sound ninja wheezed.

"Well then spit it out already," Orochimaru hissed in his smooth yet creepy voice that could send shivers down the backs of even the most seasoned jōnin. His medium length charcoal black hair fell over his chalky white skin as he leaned toward the badly bleeding ninja.

Orochimaru was wearing plain grey garbs, black pants and a think purple rope substituting a belt tied behind the back. He had a black polo neck under it, blue coma shaped earrings and black sandals.

His snake like gold eyes with black slits narrowed dangerously. "I remember telling you not interrupt me when I am observing our precious Sasuke's training. This had better be good or else."

The man gave a full report of what had happened. He along with eleven other Sound ninja had been positioned near the ancient temple in order to keep a lookout for anything unusual. During his time in the Akatsuki, Orochimaru had found the last keeper of the secrets of the temple.

He had tortured the man for months before the priest had revealed some secrets about the 'Pool of Life.' Orochimaru had always been obsessed with two things: jutsu and immortality. Now he had gotten his hands on a man who could lead him to fulfill the latter obsession.

Unfortunately, the man's heart gave out and his dead head had not revealed any secrets because of the number of experiments done to him. Ever since then, Orochimaru had sent a dozen men to keep a look out for anything unusual about the place.

Unluckily for them, the moment they came out of hiding they had given away their location to Pain. Who had sent Hidan and Kakuzu to eliminate them. Not that the snake bastard cared since he got what he wanted.

"P-please L-lord O-Orochimaru, s-save m-me." The dying man begged.

"Since you have brought me should excellent news I suppose I could do you a favor." The snake Sannin leaned back in his chair. He threw a kunai at the man's heart, killing him instantly. "There, now you didn't have to suffer as much before dying."

Orochimaru smiled maliciously. "I suppose this is as a good chance as ever to do some damage to Akatsuki. I'll be able to kill _four_ birds with one stone. I will cripple Konoha, wreck the Akatsuki's plans and get rid of a potentially powerful enemy in the future. But more importantly I'll be able to uncover the secrets of immortality. "

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><p><em><strong>Please Review~<strong>_


	5. Training Day

**Chapter 5: Training Day**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously:** Naruto meets the other Akatsuki members and Nagato figures out why Naruto is 5 years old. The chibi jinchūriki has a nightmare and Itachi calms him down. They clear their misunderstandings. Orochimaru gains information about Naruto's de-aging.

**Congratulations** _to WraithRepear for almost getting the challenge from the last chapter correct. Thank you for trying~ Unlike some people..._

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><p>Naruto was laying flat across his bed the next afternoon. He was drawing with a new set of crayons Itachi had gotten him earlier that morning. After the misunderstandings had been cleared last night, Naruto had gone back to his usual cheerful self.<p>

"Done!" Naruto exclaimed after he finished his master piece.

He jumped off the bed and was about to run out when his daddy walked in. The first thing Itachi saw was Naruto's bed covered with crayons and drawings of ramen bowls._ Somehow this does not surprise me._

"Daddy, look what I made," Naruto pulled at Itachi's pants to urge him to come down to his level and Itachi complied. He looked at the drawling of two stick figures, one with blond hair and the other with black hair. There was a sun with a giant smile and a rainbow.

"It's very nice Naruto," Itachi smiled and Naruto beamed at the compliment.

"Now, if you're done with drawing you should clean up."

"Okay."

Itachi went over to his desk and began sorting it out when he noticed Naruto had walked next to him with a curious look in his eye. _That was fast_.

"What's that daddy?" The chibi pointed at the scroll in Itachi's hand.

"This is a scroll I found on one of my recent missions. It has instructions on how to do a couple of B-rank genjutsu. I was planning on practicing them sometime today."

"Can I come too? I want to watch you train." Naruto begged.

"Well..."

"Please say yes. Please say yes."

"Alright, but you have to do exactly what I say."

"Yes!"

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><p><strong>Hidden Leaf Village<strong>

It was another lazy day in Konoha with the sun was smiling brilliantly. The sky was a pretty blue color only spotted with a few clouds here and there. A black blur sped by bright colors of the village. There were some women arguing with a vender over the prices of the produce. All in all it was just another day.

A blonde busty woman sighed as she looked over the village with a bored expression on her face. _Its days like this when I miss the little brat. 'Least he knew how to make things interesting. _Tsunade turned at the knock at the door.

"Come in."

A dark clad teen opened the door and walked in. He had ink black hair and eyes, pale skin and an expressionless face. The Fifth had decided since Sasuke wasn't going to come back—no matter how much her apprentice and the blonde knuckle-head wished—it just wasn't going to happen.

She had decided to find someone to fill in the traitor's spot. After three others had been rejected, Tsunade decided to go with the ANBU Root member Danzō had chosen. The first one got scared of Sakura's temper and left. The second was an annoying fangirl who did nothing but swoon over Kakashi. She was worse that Sakura in the old days.

And the last one wasn't as bad as the fangirl—oh no—he was worse, a _fanboy_. He was definitely the most infuriating one of all. He tried to peep in the women's spa, much like a certain perverted Sannin (no, not Orochimaru, the other one). Unfortunately, Sakura saw him and beat him to a bloody pulp. He was still recovering in the hospital.

_After much convincing, I finally had Sakura agree to have someone take Sasuke's place until he 'returned.'_ It was fine if one other member of the Konoha 12 went on missions with Sakura and Kakashi, even though her apprentice only went on missions once in a while, but she didn't want to bother anyone else because half of the team was missing.

"What's your name?"

"Sai," the young man replied with professionalism.

Tsunade had already skimmed his file but had failed to find his name anywhere. Naturally, since he was Root he wouldn't have a name. _Well, I guess I was wrong. But it's probably a fake name given to him by Danzō . That old coot! He gets more annoying every time I see him or even think about him._

"Alright then, as you know, you will be replacing Sasuke Uchiha on Team Seven. As of now, you will be attending missions alongside Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake. Naruto Uzumaki, as you probably know, is on a training trip. He will join once he returns."

"Yes."

"Well, all I can say right now is try to get along with the team. And whatever you do, don't mention the Uchiha brat." Tsunade advised.

"Yes."

"Well then, you're dismissed." She waved her hand.

Sai disappeared without another word. Tsunade looked over the window again and signed. _I can't help but worry a little about Sai. Him being in the Root division is a problem, but nothing Kakashi can't handle. No, the problem lies in his looks and manner of speech, its way too similar to Sasuke. Damn that little duck-butt haired brat! He's not even here and still causing problems. It sure seems to run in the family. _

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><p><strong>Hidden Leaf Village: Front Gates<strong>

A pink-haired teen was having a conversation with an indigo-haired teen. Sakura Haruno—now age fourteen—had bubblegum pink hair, soft green eyes and fair skin with a hint of pale pink. She wore a basic red top, black gloves, boots, shorts, short pink apron skirt, and pink elbow protectors. Sakura wore a red Konoha forehead protector tied on her head.

Hinata Hyūga—also age fourteen—had medium length blue hair, lavender eyes and a noticeable curvaceous frame. She wore a loose fitting, long-sleeved, lavender and cream zip-up jacket over mesh armor. The Hyūga heiress had on navy blue pants and black sandals. Hinata was wearing her black Konoha forehead protector around her neck.

They were standing at the front gates awaiting the arrival of the jōnin and a new teammate.

"I wonder what he's like," Sakura thought out loud.

"I'm sure he's nice," a shy quiet voice answered.

"I just hope he isn't like any of the others." A tick mark appeared on her forehead. "If he is, I swear I'm going to—"

"Are you by any chance talking about me?"

Sakura and Hinata jump at the masculine voice behind them. The first thing they notice, naturally, was his similarity to Sasuke. It made the pink-haired teen's heart beat a dull painful ache. The two kunoichi were surprised how effectively the artist had come up behind them without then noticing.

"Um, yeah hello, I'm Sakura Haruno," Sakura introduced herself politely with a little smile.

"Hello, I'm Hinata Hyūga. I'm going to this mission as well. It's nice to meet you." She gave him a small wave.

"My name is Sai, it's nice to meet you two as well," Sai smiled fakely.

_What's with the creepy smile? _Sakura thought. Other than the creepy smile, Sai seemed okay to her. But it was still too soon to accept him.

"I should let you know that Kakashi-sensei will probably be late. But you get used to it." Sakura said. _Not really._

"Actually, he's already here," Sai turned to the roof of the guard post.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura exclaimed in surprise, next to her, Hinata was just as startled.

Kakashi came down, a little impressed. Not as if you could tell behind the mask. He gave his usual greeting, "Yo."

Sai looked at his new sensei curiously. Of course he knew who the man was, but he didn't know all the rumors about him reading porn in public were all true.

"I see you've your new team," the jōnin said cheerfully and turned his attention to the trio.

"Alright, as you know, we're going to the Land of Storms. It's a simple mission since all we have to do is help the village prepare for the upcoming storm. It was said that it is going to be of substantial size."

Kakashi looked at his team. "Are you all prepared to head out?"

"Yes," three simultaneous voices answered him and they moved out.

* * *

><p><strong>Hidden Rain Village: The Training Ground<strong>

The blonde jinchūriki was practically vibrating with excitement. Itachi had to grip Naruto's hand to keep him steady. Naruto would get to see cool jutsu and go outside! While the chibi jinchūriki drank in his surroundings, Itachi was also searching for another member's charka signature, there was none. All of the Akatsuki members were hanging around the base today. There were no missions for anyone.

Itachi knew how impatient some of the members—mainly Hidan and Deidara—were. He knew they would get bored and go around picking fights. So Itachi thought it was best to void them completely.

They were near the outskirts of the village in an open grassy area surrounded by large Evergreen trees. It was Sunday so there was no rain today, but ominous grey clouds still overlay the skies.

The duo went to the target practice area and the elder man got his kunai out while signaling Naruto to scoot over a little. Said boy's eyes were as wide as sauces after his daddy had taken a few practice shots. All of the kunai came up within a few inches of the middle.

"Precise, but not accurate," the Uchiha thought out loud to himself.

"What's that mean daddy? None of your kunai missed," Naruto looked at Itachi with curious eyes.

Itachi smiled at Naruto and explained, "Well you see how the kunai are all close to each other?"

The blonde boy nodded and the Uchiha continued, "Precision, in this case, refers to how close the kunai are to each other."

Naruto looked like he understood it.

"But they are not exactly close to the center. And the closeness of the kunai to the center is the accuracy. My kunai are close to each other so it is high precision. However they are not where I was aiming for but close to it, so it is medium accuracy."

Naruto nodded to his daddy in understanding and Itachi moved on to chakra control exercises. He put chakra in his feet and began to climb the wet tree. Naruto was getting excited wanting to learn how to do it too.

"How'd you do it daddy? I want to do it too," Naruto was practically jumping up and down. Itachi disappeared and appeared in front of Naruto with a bunch of leaves in his hand.

"If you want to learn how to do the tree climbing exercise then you first have to learn this," Itachi added chakra to the single leaf he held between his thumb and index finger, causing it to tear in the middle. He handed the rest to Naruto.

"Wow, how'd you do that?"

"I used my charka—"

"What's _cachara_?" Naruto asked confused.

"It's pronounced _chakra_."

"Okay, _cachara_?"

"_Chak_-ra."

"_Cacha_-ra."

"…"

_Okay, this isn't working. Maybe I should…_Itachi looked blankly at Naruto. "Actually never mind, it called cachara."

"Daddy, you're so silly. It's called chakra not cachara." Naruto giggled.

_I can't believe it worked_. Itachi looked at Naruto and anime sweat-dropped.

"So what's charka?"

"It is—"

"Magic?"

"Naruto, it is rude to interrupt people." Itachi scolded. "It is considered bad manners because you are being disrespectful. So you shouldn't do it."

"Even to people you don't like?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, even to people you don't like."

"But why?"

Itachi sighed, they were getting off topic. "Because, sometimes when people become emotional, they start saying things which they shouldn't and reveal a secret?"

"But if they slip, they fall down. How is it revealing a secret? Unless their pants rip when they fall down and you can see their embarrassing underwear! I get it!"

_I give up_. Itachi shook his head in defeat. "Yes, now you know, don't do it. Anyway, now let's get back to what chakra is."

Itachi waited for Naruto to ask another question. Sensing he wasn't, Itachi decided to give Naruto an easy to understand definition of chakra. _Even if I give him the gennin definition of chakra, he would not be able to understand. It would only go over his head. No to mention all the questions I will have to answer._

Even before he had become a missing ninja, Itachi was not used to being questioned. He was the best of his generation, a prodigy since the Fourth Hokage. After he had joined Akatsuki, Itachi usually didn't talk unless being spoken to or he had to.

He preferred the silence. Pain had made it clear Akatsuki members would not have to share their personal information –unless it could affect the organization in any negative way—or be social with each other. They were allowed to keep to themselves without anyone getting in their personal affairs.

Itachi took a moment to think about an explanation of chakra a 5 year old could comprehend. _The definition of chakra is too vast. Naruto won't know terms such as chakra circulatory system, chakra points, or body cells._

_Hmm, maybe I should only let him believe it's magic_. Itachi thought amused. He looked down at Naruto and began explaining. "Chakra is something you need for even the most basic and low level techniques. It is the mix of physical and spiritual energy. Did you follow me so far?"

"Yeah, so chakra is this thingy you need to use jutsu. And you need to mix the other physical and spiritual thingies to make it. But what are physical and spiritual thingies?"

Itachi was a bit surprised at the intelligence Naruto was showing. He was asking questions which he could only ask if he knew what was being discussed. _I guess he can understand what he I told if you know what exactly to say._

"Well, physical—um—thingy is something you are born with," Itachi said _thingy_ awkwardly. _If I tell him it is physical and spiritual _energy_, I'll have to explain what energy it. And he definitely will not know what to make of it. Best to let him say thingy. _

"And spiritual thingy is something you get from exercise and experience."

"Right, got it!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air.

"Now, I want you to put your chakra into these and do what I just did. And when you're done I'll give you the next exercise."

It was late afternoon when they returned to the tower and headed to the kitchen for some lunch and took a little break. Naruto went back to their room to work on his chakra control. On their way back they ran into Kisame. The shark man threw a wide grin to scare Naruto a little but he was ignored since the blonde boy seemed too busy. He went right past the disappointed Mist ninja and into his room.

"Is there something you need Kisame?" Itachi asked his partner.

"Yeah, we have a mission and we have to leave in about an hour."

"How long will it take?"

"No much. We'll be back by tonight."

"Hn," Itachi nodded to his partner and went to his room. Naruto's chibi face was scrunched in concentration as he tried to control his charka. It was quite harder than it looked.

"Naruto," Itachi walked over to the chibi jinchūriki.

"Hm?"

"I have to go on a mission soon but I'll back later tonight. I expect you to behave yourself."

"Okay."

Itachi observed as Naruto tried—and failed—continuously to make the leaf tear. _Naruto's close, but he needs to take a break. Even at his young age, his chakra won't run out any time soon. He must be mentally exhausted. But of course he's determined—and stubborn—so he won't stop until he has succeeded._

Itachi walked over and sat next to the chibi blonde. "Naruto, you should take a break."

Said boy looked at the elder man. "But I don't need a break daddy. I'm not tired. I haven't run out of chakra yet. So I have to keep going."

"It is because you obviously have extremely large charka reserves_._ While you may not have run out of charka, you are at your limit mentally. Naruto, you are only 5 years old, you can't keep going like this. Take a nap, and you'll get it, I know you will."

"I don't feel like taking a nap." He shook his head. "But can I go take a walk? I promise I won't go explore."

"Alright, go ahead. But don't cause any trouble."

"Don't worry daddy, I'll be good," Naruto replied cheerfully before running out the room.

Itachi sat at his desk and took out a new scroll. He had been mulling over something ever since he gave Naruto the chakra control exercise. _Should I? I don't think it'll be a problem…but..._Itachi shook his head. _Might as well, it's not like I have anything better to do._

Itachi took out a pencil and started writing. It was than faster using a brush and ink, and it would be easier to erase any mistakes.

Fifteen minutes later Naruto walked in and belly flopped on his bed. Itachi looked over to Naruto and raised an eyebrow. "Back already?"

Naruto lifted his head and looked over at Itachi. "I went to the kitchen but I wasn't hungry. I went to the living room but there was no one there, so I got bored and came back."

The chibi jinchūriki looked bored out of his mind. Itachi smiled apologetically. "Sorry Naruto, but you have to follow the rules. They're for your own good."

"I know," Naruto pouted as he looked at his daddy. He glanced around the room to see if there was anything interesting to do. His gaze went over to the bent figure of Itachi who writing down something furiously before he forgot. "Daddy, will you play with me? We could play tag or hide-and-seek. Oh, I know, we could play soccer. C'mon daddy, please?"

The little boy ran towards Itachi and climbed into his lap. The former—whether out of habit or on purpose—poked the excited boy in the forehead. The caring gesture confused the little boy.

"Sorry Naruto, maybe another time. I have a mission to go to, remember?"

Naruto pouted while Itachi chuckled at the blondes' cute little expression. Of course it didn't last long. A light bulb went off in Naruto's head as an idea came to him. Now Itachi's expression was the one which changed.

_I have an unpleasant feeling. He's up to something I just know he is. _And the little devilish grin which made its way up the little boy's face only made Itachi uneasy_. There is definitely something cooking in the little—yet extremely thick—head of his. _

Said boy jumped of Itachi's lap. "Daddy, I'm going to go find something to eat."

Itachi looked at Naruto with his arms crossed and a facial expression which screamed 'I know you're up to something and you're going to be in so much trouble when I find out.'

"Very well, but remember not to get into _any _trouble. If you are caught then Pain will take you away from me. So please refrain from bothering anyone."

Naruto felt a little guilty when he looked into his daddy eyes. So he made his way toward the door as fast as his little legs could carry him. _I really hope he doesn't cause any problems. I don't really care what kind of punishment Pain will give me. But I know he will definitely take Naruto away and I can't let that happen._

* * *

><p>Sasori was heading out when he spotted Naruto. He didn't want to deal with the blonde ball of energy and decided to make a fast getaway. Unfortunately he decided too late. Naruto was onto the scorpion immediately.<p>

"Hey, I know you! You're, um, what's your name again?" Naruto asked sheepishly.

The puppeteer sighed, "Sasori of the Red Sand. And you better remember it from now on."

"Sasori, yup, got it!"

"Well then move out of the way brat. I have important material to buy."

Naruto grinned up at Hiruko, "Really? Because I need a few things too, can you buy them for me?"

Sasori growled. "No, now beat it."

"Aw, why can't you? Please? With ramen on top," Naruto kept bugging the Akatsuki's puppeteer.

Sasori glared at a certain blonde. _I don't have time for this. He's keeping me here with his useless babbling. _His subordinate was waiting and he hated making people wait.

"Fine, but don't bother me again," Sasori gave in.

Naruto beamed at the scorpion and gave a salute, "Yes, sir."

* * *

><p><strong>Land of Tornadoes<strong>

Kakashi, Sai, Sakura and Hinata arrived in the Land of Storms and headed over to the village leader's house. The skies were overlay with dark clouds and the wind howled as if it were angry.

The village leader—also the village elder—was a woman in her mid-sixties with silver gray hair and kind caramel eyes. She was dressed in a pale yellow kimono with a white floral design.

"It seems the storm will arrive earlier than expected. It's a good thing you and your team also made it here earlier than planned," Kimiko studied the weather outside the window.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Don't worry. We'll make sure all the preparations are made before the storm hits." Kakashi looked at his current team.

"Sakura, I want you to go check the medical supply and tend to some of the injured. Please make sure nothing is missing. Hinata, because of your Byakugan it would be best if you go with the last patrol to see if anyone might still be out there."

The female members of the team nodded and head out. The jōnin looked at Sai. "You and I are going to help board up the rest of the buildings. After we're done, we'll head to the shelter and make sure no flying objects inflict any additional damage."

With a nod of understanding both ANBU level ninja headed out.

Later that evening around 5, when Itachi had left for his mission with Kisame, Naruto got out his things he'd asked Sasori to get for him. The chibi blonde grinned cheekily. It was time to put his plan into action.

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><p><em><strong>Please Review~<strong>_


	6. Pranks and Punishments

**Chapter 6: Pranks and Punishments**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

**Previously: **Naruto tries some chakra control exercises and asks Sasori to get him the material needed for his prank. Sai is introduced and he, Kakashi, Hinata, and Sakura go to the Land of Tornadoes for a mission. The perverted sage if nowhere to be seen…

* * *

><p>Hidan was having a bad day, a really bad day. The cheap money-hungry Kakuzu had sold the two Cloud ninja they had caught for a bounty. They were supposed to be sacrificed for Jashin! How blasphemous!<p>

The silver-haired immortal was on his way to the kitchen when he heard muffled laughter coming from the living room. Hidan decided to ruin the day of the person who he had just heard. _There's no way in Jashin's name I am going to let someone else have fun while I'm not._

Unfortunately for the Jashinist, his day was about to turn into a living nightmare. There, sitting lazily on the sofa, was a short plump pig. The pink beast had a crooked little black triangle in a circle on his back.

"Who the hell brought a damn pig here? Oh, I get it, he's dinner." Hidan picked up the pig and grinned sadistically.

Naruto—who had been hiding behind the sofa—tried to make his voice as deep as he possibly could. "I am the Great Jashin you fool! Put me down right now!"

"How dare you compare yourself to Lord Jashin you filthy little piece of shit!"

"And here I thought you, Hidan, were the one who I would tell my greatest super ultra cool jutsu to." The pig made a little snort noise and looked up innocently at the frozen Jashinist.

"Y-you know my name. W-wait, you can talk too!" Hidan looked wide-eyed at the plump animal in his hands.

"Well it's about time you noticed. So do you want to learn my greatest super ultra cool jutsu or not?"

"Of course I do! It would be a dream come true!"

"Good, now this is what you have to do first…"

"What? The hell I am!"

"Your choice, I'm sure I can find someone here who's not a chicken like you," the pig snorted at the end.

"No, no, no. I was just kidding. I-I'll do it. If I have to become a sacrifice to please you, then I shall do it," Hidan exclaimed with tears of joy running down his face.

* * *

><p>Deidara and Sasori were making their way to the training grounds for some practice when Kakuzu stopped them. "Have either of you seen Hidan?"<p>

"Yeah, he was on his way to the kitchen when I last saw him," Deidara answered.

At that very moment, the trio saw a silver and pink blur rushing at them. Even though you couldn't see the faces of two of the three ninja, it was easy to tell they were shocked… and disturbed.

The pink and silver blur was none other than Hidan. He had on a short pink skirt, light pink tights and a tank top of the same shade. Hidan had a little silver crown on his head and a silver wand in his right hand. Deidara burst out in laughter and broke the silence as Kakuzu and Sasori stood trying to figure what finally caused the immortal to lose it.

"T-that r-really goes we-well with your eyes, yeah!" The blonde artist finally managed to say.

Hidan's eyebrow twitched and he took a deep breath to calm him. Kisame and Itachi, who had heard Deidara's loud donkey-bray of a laugh, had come out of their rooms to investigate.

Hidan held up his silver wand and— with as much dignity as he could muster—the immortal followed the instructions he was given by Jashin.

* * *

><p>Konan watched the clouds twist and turn as her memories of Yahiko haunted her. The skies made a thunderous noise, as if to make known the pain the blue-haired woman felt for losing the love of her life.<p>

_Yahiko, I wish so badly that I-_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard screams of pure horror erupt from inside the building. Pain was out preparing for the mission so it was her job to check out what had happened. Konan's body dispersed into thousands of pieces of paper which became beautiful butterflies and flew off.

* * *

><p>Hidan tried to do a <em>shanay<em> (stand on your toes, spin around, and open/close your arm) and he yelled, "I'M A BARBIE GIRL! HEAR ME RWOAAA—"

Thud!

Rip!

"OH DEAR GOD!" Deidara was too horrified to even make his speech impediment.

Hiruko jumped back as Sasori tried to get as far away as possible from the disaster known as Hidan. Kakuzu looked bothered as he watched the scene before him. _Of all the disturbing things I've seen in my ninety-two years of living. This once takes the cake._

"MY EYES, THEY BURN!" Kisame wailed as his skin turned from blue…to normal?

Itachi wanted to slam his head against the wall until the sick image left his head. He thanked all holy things he could think of for not having his Sharingan activated. Itachi shuddered at the thought. _At least Naruto didn't have to see such a repulsive sight._

No one had noticed the "Flash" which had gone off in the midst of the chaos.

That was the scene Konan saw when she materialized. "What is going on here?" The blue-haired kunoichi looked down at Hidan in disgust and glared. "Put on some clothing right now. This isn't a strip club!"

Since there weren't exactly any clothes lying around, Sasori used Hiruko's tail to remove his cloak and threw it on Hidan. Said man was turning different shades of red and purple in humiliation and rage.

Konan watched him unemotionally. "Just what exactly are you doing in that get-up?"

Hidan glared up at he co-Leader. "I was only following Lord Jashin's orders! He told me to do this if I wanted him to teach me his greatest super ultra cool jutsu!"

"There is no Jashin," Konan's voice sounded like sharp kunai.

"Yes there is! He's in the living room right now," Hidan snapped. He ran towards the living room as soon as he had the cloak on. The other members followed after him.

"See, there he is," Hidan pointed at the plump pig who was sleeping and snoring soundly. The Akatsuki members eyed Hidan as if he had finally gone off his knocker. Which, it kind seemed like he had since he thought a little pig was an evil god.

Konan had a look of irritation across her face. "That is a pig."

"A pig that can talk, knows my name, and what I want!"

Giggle. Itachi's stomach took a dive as the giggle turned into full blown laughter and Naruto climbed over the sofa. He laughed at Hidan, "Got you!"

"So do you still want to learn my greatest super ultra cool jutsu or not?" Naruto tried to make his voice deep again.

"You got done in by a 5 year old, yeah," Deidara snickered.

Hidan flew into absolute rage and pulled his scythe out of who knows where. Itachi watched in horror as the giant red weapon closed in on the vulnerable blonde.

CLANK!

The Akatsuki members were startled as they saw Naruto behind what looked like a shield of paper. Konan held out her left arm and within an instant Hidan was levitating in mid-air, pinned in a vice grip by Konan's paper jutsu.

Itachi had to hold back a sign of relief. But he was as relieved as he was angry with himself for being so slow.

_She's fast._ Kisame raised an eyebrow, impressed.

_That paper doesn't even have a scratch on it_. Kakuzu observed. _It sounded as if Hidan's scythe hit something made out of medal. _

"This ends here. I've had enough of your immaturity. You call yourself an S-ranked criminal and yet you let yourself be fooled by a mere child?"

Hidan opened his mouth but the Toad Sannin's former student beat him to it. "One more word out of you and I'll activate my jutsu. We'll see how immortal you really are when you're shredded into a thousand little pieces."

_Wouldn't want to be on her bad side, yeah. _Deidara was slightly shaken.

_There's no doubt why she's one of the leaders_. Sasori thought.

One look at her face and Hidan knew he'd be seriously screwed if he didn't shut his trap. Konan's expression became calm though her eyes were a violent ember.

"I want all of you to listen and listen well. You have been given the freedom to do whatever may please you. This may be an S-rank criminal organization but you are all still expected to behave in a civil manner and a certain level of maturity."

Konan shot Hidan a look at the end and turned to look at Naruto, who had remained quiet to avoid seeking the blue-haired woman's wrath. "You are also expected to follow these rules."

The sole female Akatsuki member looked at the others. "I want every one of you but Itachi to leave."

Not needing to be told twice, the rest of the Akatsuki members—minus Itachi—left quickly and quietly. The dark-haired man waited patiently to be yelled at.

"Since Pain is out preparing for a mission right now, I will be deciding your punishment."

The trio made no sound of protest and Konan continued as she faced Naruto's current guardian, "One week from now, you will be sent on a back to back mission, by yourself."

Itachi stood there quietly and nodded. He had a feeling he was going to be doing them alone. Usually Akatsuki members only had one mission per week—excluding the capturing of jinchūriki—since all of them sapped one mentally and physically.

Konan motioned him to leave. Itachi hesitated half a second before disappearing. She looked at the duo. "You two will be cleaning up the entire base and the training ground."

The blue-haired kunoichi gazed at the silver haired immoral. "As for you Hidan, you won't be getting your scythe back for the next two weeks."

One glare from Akatsuki's co-Leader and Hidan closed his mouth. "Naruto, for the next two days, you aren't allowed to come out of your room. The only exception is when you are summoned by either Pain or I. Itachi will bring your meals and anything else you might need."

"But—"

"Or would you rather I change your guardian and have you stay with Kisame?" Konan watched the blonde jinchūriki pale. She knew he was attached to Itachi.

"N-no, I'll be good," Naruto promised with wide eyes.

"You can leave now," Konan said and Kurama's host left fled.

The paper jutsu released the Jashinist as Konan dispersed and flew off.

* * *

><p>Naruto opened the door and saw Itachi sitting on his bed starting intently off into space. <em>Daddy looks mad.<em> Itachi was too angry at himself to notice the 5 year old walk towards him.

_I can't believe I let myself get so weak. How could I let myself become so dependent on the Sharingan? Even if I had activated it, I could never be able to make my body move fast enough. I need to—_

A sniffling sound snapped Itachi out of his thoughts. He was surprised to see Naruto sitting next to him looking extremely guilty and on the verge of tears. Naruto hugged Itachi as he talked and cried at the same time. The elder man hugged the blonde who was soaking his shirt with tears. He figured his son was trying to apologize and thinking that Itachi was mad at him. After a minute or two, Naruto finally calmed down.

Itachi had a stern look on his face as he talked to the 5 year old. "I hope you have learned your lesson now." Naruto nodded his head obediently and Itachi continued. "So what is your punishment?"

Naruto pouted. "The pretty but really scary lady said I can't come out of my room for two days. And I have to clean up the base with Hidan."

"Are you going to be pulling any more pranks now?"

"No daddy, I promise."

"Alright, you can do what you want now, except leave the room."

Naruto nodded his head and got off his daddy. Itachi looked at his shirt. "I should go change my shirt."

Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed his head. "Heh heh, sorry about that."

* * *

><p>Later that evening Pain stared blankly at the village as Konan relayed what had happened. The Leader of the Akatsuki stood up and squeezed the object in his hand. "It's time. Bring him to me tomorrow."<p>

* * *

><p>A group of ninja, lead by a grey-haired teen with glasses, were fast on their way to their destination. <em>Soon, my lord's greatest dream will be fulfilled.<em>

"Prepare yourself. We will reach out destination tomorrow afternoon. Our main objective is the boy. Avoid combat situation as you best can. None of the enemies are less than S-rank. Do not underestimate them."

The grey-haired man's eyes flashed menacingly as he eagerly awaited to reach their destination. _We're not far now, from the Village Hidden in the Rain._

* * *

><p><strong>Land of Tornadoes <strong>

Hinata's stomach twisted as she watched the weather outside getting extremely nasty. She was worried—not about the storm—but about a certain blonde ninja she had a crush on since the Academy days.

_I have a bad feeling, I hope your safe Naruto._ The Hyūga heiress watched the ominous grey clouds outside grow and echo thunderously.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Update:<strong> I updated way earlier than I planned. The chapter is also short but I don't think I'll have time this month so I probably won't update until next month.

_**Please Review~**_


	7. Kidnapping

**Chapter 7: Kidnapping**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**Previously:** Naruto pranks Hidan. They both get punished by Konan. Kabuto and his men are making their way over to the Hidden Rain Village. In the Land of Tornadoes, Hinata and the others wait for the storm to hit.

* * *

><p>"No, that will take two days and I can't wait that long."<p>

"Now, now, Sasuke no need to be so impatient. All I'm asking you to do is to go get some data from our other base," replied the Snake Sannin.

"I came with you to learn powerful jutsu. If I had wanted to run chores I would have stayed in the Leaf Village. So are you going to teach me that new jutsu or what?"

Orochimaru sighed dramatically. "We are so much alike, you and I. I also wouldn't have been able to sit still with the possibility of learning new jutsu."

"Don't compare me to yourself. We don't have anything in common." Sasuke said coldly.

"Oh, I wouldn't say _anything _in common. After all, we both hurt our teammates, and betrayed the village. And we did all that in order to learn forbidden jutsu."

Sasuke glared at his mentor. "You betrayed the village and did inhumane experiments. Not even sparing children. I didn't. I only left the village."

"Sure, call it whatever you want. But one thing is for sure, you'll never be allowed to come back. Even if somehow Tsunade and the Council permit it, no one will be at ease with you. In their eyes, you'll be nothing but a traitor. Why would anyone want to have you around?"

Orochimaru was the Snake Sannin. It wasn't just because of his animal summons, but also because of his cunning mind. He was poisoning Sasuke's mind now. Orochimaru was psychologically manipulating Sasuke. He was making sure his pupil would think he wouldn't have a home if he returned to Konoha. And that he wouldn't be wanted, he would only make people uneasy and hate him.

It was necessary to ensure that Sasuke doesn't go back to the village. The Sharingan wielder had to think he had no future in Konoha. Thus the dark-haired teen wouldn't listen to his teammates or sensei when they tried to convince him to come back.

Sasuke clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists. Before he can say another word Orochimaru interrupted him. "The reason I'm sending you to the other base is because my subordinate may have found a way to make the Curse Seal stronger."

Sasuke kept his face blank not wanting to betray any emotion, "Stronger how?"

"Well, more endurance and faster healing for one. And some other stuff."

"Fine, I'll go." Sasuke replied after a moment.

"But why not send Kabuto instead?"

Orochimaru's face lit up. "Dear Kabuto is on a mission right now. He should be back in later this afternoon."

"Hn," Sasuke replied and left.

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><p><strong>Akatsuki Training Ground<strong>

"Phew," a chibi blonde sighed in relief. He looked at the silver-haired man next to him uncomfortably.

"Finally, I thought it would never end. My entire morning wasted to clean this shi—crappy dump." Hidan swore colorfully in his head at Itachi_. How the hell am I expected not to swear when I had to clean such filth! _

The immortal man glared at Naruto, making the 5 year old edge away from him. _Stupid pint sized twerp. It's his entire damn fault!_

Konan had made the two get up at 5 in the morning to begin their punishment. They had to clean the entire base and the Training Ground. Someone had to clean the weight room and it couldn't be Naruto. _He might accidentally hurt himself._ Hidan mimicked Konan in a snarky tone.

One thought went through his head as he had entered the weight room. _What in the name of Jashin does Kisame do in here?_ Had it not been for his immortality, Hidan was sure he would have gagged to death from the smell. He was so glad to finally get out of there that he would have kissed the ground.

It was around 9 o'clock when they finished. Naruto was happy to have finished. But also a little sad because it meant this would be the last time he was outdoors. He would be spending the next two days cooped up inside_._

_Why did the pretty lady have to give me such a mean punishment? Anything else would have been better. _Naruto pouted.

The chibi jinchūriki looked around trying to remember the way out. He decided to follow Hidan and turned to him. Said man was already making his way out.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled. But Hidan was already out of hearing range so Naruto rushed to catch up with him. _I don't remember coming in this way_. Naruto thought_. Maybe you have to go through a different way to leave this place._

The silver-haired immortal wanted to sleep but he was also hungry. So he settled on going to a pub_. I'll just drink till I crash. And put it all on Kakuzu's tab, greedy old geezer's probably got a mountain load of cash hidden away anyway_.

With that in mind, Hidan picked up his pace making it harder for Naruto to keep up. Unfortunately for Naruto the pub was in the market area, which was extremely crowded. Finally, when Naruto had gotten close enough to Hidan, something caught his eye.

To his right, there was a man selling bubble blowers. _Bubbles! They're so pretty!_ The chibi jinchūriki's eyes widened in awe and a bright smile lit up his face.

"I'll get daddy so he'll buy them for me," Naruto though out loud. He turned around to look for Hidan.

"Uh-oh," Naruto's stomach dropped as he scanned his surrounding looking for a familiar silver head in the crowd.

Naruto tried to run in the direction which he last saw Hidan heading in. He gazed around looking completely lost.

"Excuse me? Are you looking for your mommy and daddy?"

Naruto whipped his head around and saw a grey-haired teen with glasses and a warm smile. "Are you lost?"

Naruto hesitated before answering. "Yeah."

"Would you like to me to help you get back home?"

The little boy grinned. "Yeah! Thanks mister."

The teen smiled and gave his introduction. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi. What's yours?"

"I'm Naruto!"

Kabuto extended his hand. "Here, take me hand. Or we'll end up losing each other in the crowd."

Naruto—sweet innocent Naruto—was oblivious to the malicious smile that was making its way up Kabuto's face.

"So, Naruto, where do you live?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, I don't really know what it looks like from the outside but daddy said not to go to the top floor so it's some building with floors."

Naruto's smile faded when he looked around and saw about a dozen tall buildings. Kabuto squeezed the little boy's hand and reassured him. "Don't worry Naruto; you'll be home before you know it."

"I know. But I'm worried about daddy. He'll be so sad. He seems so lonely. I don't want daddy to be sad. It hurts right here." Naruto pointed at his heart.

_Daddy? One of the members is Naruto's father? No, no, he is probably pretending in order to gain Naruto's trust._ Kabuto was surprised at Naruto's words. It's hard to imagine an Akatsuki member in the way Naruto describes him._ I wonder who it is. Probably the pyromaniac from the Hidden Stone Village. From what Lord Orochimaru gathered about his replacement, the boy had blonde hair and blue eyes. It would make sense for him to be "related" to Naruto._

"Then I guess we'll have to get you home no matter what."

The grey-haired teen reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate truffle. "Want some chocolate Naruto?"

"I love chocolate!"

A silhouette observed the two from his/her hiding place. He or she kept his/her eyes on Kabuto and Naruto all times. Someone was tailing them.

Naruto felt strange goose bumps on the back of his neck. He turned around and started hesitantly.

"What is it Naruto?"

The blonde boy turned back to Kabuto. "Oh its nothing, just thought I saw something."

_I was sure there was someone there. Like some sort of shadow_. Naruto shook his head and then yawned. He was starting to feel sleepy.

Soon Naruto's movements became slow and Kabuto put on a fake mask of concern. "Naruto, are you okay?"

"I'mm alllright."

"Would you like me to carry you?"

Naruto shook his head up and down, suddenly too tired to talk. _Must be because I had to get up so early. _Kabuto took Naruto into his arms and began to move faster. _Like taking candy from a baby,_ o_r, I suppose in this case, giving candy to a baby. _Kabuto chuckled at his own stupid joke.

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><p><strong>Akatsuki Base: 3 Hours Later<strong>

Hidan crashed unsuccessfully onto the living room sofa and ended up falling off. Itachi sensed Hidan's chakra so he had left to get Naruto and take him back to their room. He was making his way through the hallway as he tried to push away the strange feeling that something wasn't right.

When Itachi entered the living room he saw Hidan lying on the floor glaring at it. He was muttering something about "alcohol not being what it used to" under his breath. The dark-haired man looked around trying to find Naruto who was nowhere to be seen.

"Hidan, where is Naruto? Why were you gone for so long?" Itachi wrinkled his nose in displeasure. "Are you drunk?"

"What's with all the questions? What are you? My wife?"

"I asked you something Hidan." Itachi looked patiently at the man sprawled out on the floor. He finally got up and glared at the Uchiha.

"I'm not drunk. I barely get drunk anymore."

"…"

"Alright, enough with the creepy starting. I was at a pub alright. So what?"

"You took a 5 year old to a _pub_?"

"Of course I didn't. Why the hell would I want that pipsqueak around?"

"Then where is he?"

"I don't know. Last time I saw him was after we finished cleaning."

"Around what time did you finish?"

"I think it was 9."

Itachi's insides turned cold. Naruto's been gone for 3 hours. He had no idea where the base was. Itachi tired to think calmly, which meant no Tsukuyomi on Hidan…for now. Then again the moron would probably enjoy it.

"We have a problem," Konan materialized.

The two men turned to look at the blue-haired woman. "Let's wait till the rest of the members arrive."

**10 Minutes Later**

Konan, Itachi, Hidan, Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, and Zetsu were all standing together in the living room.

"So, what with the emergency meeting?" the shark like man asked.

Konan addressed the Akatsuki members calmly. "Naruto has been missing for the past 3 hours. It was assumed he was with Hidan when in fact he has been kidnapped by Sound ninja."

Everyone turned to the silver-haired immoral.

"What?"

"You're in big trouble now, yeah."

"I only had to look after the brat until we were done cleaning. After that, he goes his way and I go mine."

Konan looked at blonde-haired teen. "It shouldn't be too surprising with Hidan's straight and comprehensible mentality."

Hidan beamed at Itachi looking extremely smug. "That's right."

Itachi knew the man was only doing this to get on his nerves.

"I think Konan just called you incompetent and predictable, yeah." Deidara was smirking.

"Enough," at the co-Leader's command everyone piped down and awaited orders. "Pain is out on a mission right now. Therefore I will be the one to give orders. Now listen carefully."

She explained that according to the scouts Naruto was last seen carried in the arms of a teenage boy with grey-hair and glasses.

They didn't find it suspicious because what kind of kidnapper openly carries his/her hostage for everyone to see. It was extremely clever since it was so obvious.

"Right now we have four trails. Three of them are fake and only one is the real one. Sasori and Deidara will take the one heading north, Kakuzu and Hidan will head east, and Itachi and Kisame will take the west one. I will go south."

Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

"Good. Now go."

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><p><strong>Next Update:<strong> Wednesday June 20, 2012 (Summer solstice :)

I'LL BE SAD IF YOU DON'T **REVIEW**. REVIEWS MOTIVATE ME. **MOTIVATION **FOR ME EQUALS** FASTER UPDATES** FOR YOU. WHICH EQUALS HAPPINESS FOR EVERYONE^_^

See math isn't so hard after all ;)


	8. Confrontation

**Chapter 8: Confrontation **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Hidan leaves Naruto and goes to a bar. Orochimaru sends Sasuke out on a mission. Kabuto drugs Naruto and kidnaps him. Konan orders the Akatsuki members to follow several different trails. Kakashi, Sai, Sakura, and Hinata prepared for the storm.

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><p><strong>Good boy-chan<strong>: Thank you very much for telling me about Kabuto's hair. I can't believe I thought his hair was blue. Thanks for reviewing and all your other advice too. I re-read Ch. 7 and realized I had started to jump between past and present tense…_again_. I'll fix that later. If you see any more mistakes go ahead and point them out. It's really helpful :)

**hanasenbon**: Orochimaru knew about Chibi Naruto from his spy. He doesn't know Pain is away. Kabuto and his men were originally supposed to do recon work but kidnap Naruto if the chance presented itself. Your last question will be answered in this chapter. Thank you for reviewing. I enjoy your questions because they show you pay attention :)

**AnotherGenericBrony**: first of all, nice name ^_^ Second, thank for reviewing. This story is not Itanaru. Itachi and Naruto are the story's main characters. NaruHina is the main pairing. So the most "screen time" will be given to Naruto and Itachi. Most of my pathetic attempts at romance will be directed towards Naruto and Hinata. I hope that made sense. If it didn't just let me know~

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><p><span>THANK YOU<span> TO ALL THOSE WHO REVIEW! UNLIKE SOME LAZY BUMS…

**HAPPY SUMMER! WHOO!**

Kabuto and his men were currently moving fast towards their hideout. He felt eyes on him. He felt this since he picked Naruto up and started to make his way out of the village. The medic ninja had spotted a shadow twice now through the corner of his eyes.

Kabuto and his men came to a stop. They were deep in a forest. The medic-nin waited for their follower to catch up. _It shouldn't be long now_. Kabuto didn't turn back to see who had arrived since he already knew. "Well, it's about time.

* * *

><p>Kisame observed his partner. Itachi was tense, the former Mist ninja could tell. The shark man had spent years observing his partners and could tell the difference in his moods now. The air of calmness around the Uchiha was deadly. Kisame smirked. <em>I almost feel bad for the poor sap that kidnapped the Kyūbi jinchūriki. <em>Almost_._

* * *

><p>"I am sorry. I had to make sure no one was following." The Sound ninja joined Kabuto and his men. Yamada had been watching the grey-haired teen since he had picked up Naruto. His job was to make sure Kabuto and the other men weren't followed. The six Sound ninja were on their way once again.<p>

Soon they arrived at their hideout. Kabuto, with Naruto on his back, went to see Orochimaru alone. He opened the door to the laboratory, Orochimaru was already there. This was the room where he would find the key to immortality.

The snake man's eyes widened and he grinned delightedly when he saw Naruto. "Welcome back Kabuto. I see you were able to successfully retrieve the specimen. Go ahead and place him on the table."

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto replied ever so respectfully and strapped Naruto to the metal table. The shock of cold metal woke Naruto and he protested, half asleep. He shivered. _Why is my bed so hard and cold?_

"I see that you are awake," a slimy smooth voice caused Naruto to open his eyes. He was wide awake now.

"W-where am I?" Naruto asked looking around scared. The room was really big, a little dark and funny smelling. There was a table two feet away from him covered with beakers and test tubes full of strange looking liquid. Not to mention the scissors, retractors, scalpels, tweezers and other scary tools.

"You're in a good place Naruto," Kabuto smiled politely and finished mentally, _but not for you of course_.

The little boy recognized him immediately. "Where's my daddy? You said you'd take me to him. Where is he?" Naruto looked a little panicked.

"Yes, well, I lied."

"What does he mean by that?" Orochimaru finally stopped staring and licking his lips.

Kabuto looked at Naruto, "One of the Akatsuki members is pretending to be his father, most likely to gain his trust. I feel kind of bad for the poor naïve boy."

Naruto forgot his panic and fear. "No he's not! Stop lying. You're a liar. Let me go!"

"It is probably Deidara. No one else is more similar to Naruto in looks than him." Kabuto ignored the blonde.

"He's not my daddy, you're stupid." Naruto stuck his tongue out. "My daddy's cool, awesome, nice," he looked at the snake man, "and has _way_ prettier hair than you."

Orochimaru started intensely at Naruto, "Are you talking about Itachi?" The creep's stare made Naruto uncomfortable so he tried to wriggle free.

"Interesting," the dark-haired man said out loud.

"Let me go!" Naruto kept trying to free himself.

The Snake Sannin smirked, "So sorry but that's not happening. I need you for a very important experiment." He went to the table and brought back up a pair of tweezers. "Now I'll finally gain the secrets to immortality."

Kabuto waved his finger in front of Naruto which was a very bad idea. You never bring your fingers close to a kid's mouth. Whatever the medic-nin was about to say was interrupted when Naruto opened his mouth and his head shot forward. Kabuto let out a scream as Naruto bit his finger.

"Why you little," Kabuto growled at Naruto as he healed his throbbing finger.

The little blonde boy wrinkled his face," Ewww, your finger's so gross." Naruto tried to reach his shirt to wipe the taste off his tongue.

Orochimaru was in too good a mood to be ruined by Naruto's little stunt. He turned to his prisoner, "If you cooperate, I promise this won't hurt…much." He made a little _clip-clip_ noise with the tweezers.

Naruto gulped. He looked scared but mustered up a little courage, "Y-yeah, well, my daddy's going to be here any minute now. And then he'll kick both of your butts and we'll go home and eat ramen!"

The grey-haired teen rolled his eyes. "Speaking of Uchiha, where is Sasuke?"

Orochimaru studied the tweezers in his hands as he replied, "Oh I sent dear Sasuke to our hideout up north. I told him there was some data I wanted him to retrieve which could make the Curse Seal stronger. I lied of course but I had to get him out of here."

"Yes that makes sense. He'd probably throw a tantrum if he knew Naruto was here. And especially if he knew there was a chance the brat's "daddy" was going to show up." Kabuto agreed.

The medic-nin then got a scalpel and smiled in a sick way, "Don't worry Naruto, it'll only be a pinch."

Naruto gulped.

* * *

><p><strong>Land of Tornadoes<strong>

The storm had passed and luckily there wasn't much damage inflicted by it. Hinata walked towards the center of the village to meet Sakura and Sai. She saw Sai observing the people walking around him. Sakura was nowhere in sight.

"Hello Sai, what are you doing?" Hinata greeted the artist.

Sai nodded his head towards Hinata and gave a fake smile, "Hello Hinata. I was just looking around."

Silence soon took over. Sai finally looked at Hinata," So Hinata, you're one of Naruto's friends right?"

"Yes," Hinata blushed as Sai said her crush's name.

"Will you tell me about him?"

"Sure, I guess," the Hyuga heiress said without much surprise. Naruto was after all Sai's teammate now. Well, that is if Sai stuck around long enough.

"Naruto is a very great ninja and an even better friend. His dream is to become Hokage. Naruto never goes back on his word and that's his nindo, his ninja way."

The lavender-eyed teen stopped. Usually people would make fun of Naruto every time he said what his dream is. She wasn't sure if maybe she should continue. But Sai made no remark at all and waited patiently for her to continue.

"Naruto is very loyal and kind. He's really protective of his precious people."

Hinata, despite being the heiress to one of Konoha's most prominent clans, was very shy. However, as she started telling Sai about Naruto, she found it easy to talk to him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Sai seemed to be lacking in the emotions department.

Sai was quite surprised by what Hinata told him about Naruto. He didn't seem like the ideal shinobi. But that seemed to be one of his qualities. Naruto wanted to help Gaara even after the boy had tried to kill him and his teammates. He shed tears for his enemies.

Needless to say, Sai was really interested. It seemed that Naruto's emotions made him strong. _No, emotions are not needed in a good ninja. They only hinder the mission._ But Hinata wasn't the lying type, Sai would know, he lied his entire life. You had to be a good liar if you wanted to survive in the ANBU Root Division.

_We've always been taught that emotions are a weakness. Yet Naruto's actions prove that wrong. And there are those rumors about the soon to be fourth Kazekage being a teenager. A red head named Gaara_. Sai's thoughts were interrupted when Hinata started to speak again.

"I wonder where Sakura is at."

"She's probably on her way now," Sai replied.

"Yeah, I think I sense her charka. She'll be here in a few seconds."

"Hinata, I read a book to help you understand people and…"

Sakura was now close enough for her to hear Sai talking about the book he read on people.

"Yes?" Hinata wondered where this was going.

"The way you talked about Naruto…"

"Y-yes," Hinata stuttered. _Was I that obvious? Does Sai know now?_

"Does it mean you and Naruto share a special relationship?"

"Naruto and I s-special rela-" The shy girl fainted before finishing the sentence. Sakura sighed and shook her head. _Even Sai, social level 4 out of 10 at best can tell Hinata likes Naruto_.

"Hello Sakura, would you mind checking Hinata. She turned red and fainted. Does she have a fever or some sort of illness?"

Sakura signed again. _Oh never mind! He's as bad as Naruto. Speaking of which, I wonder what kind of first impression Sai would make on Naruto._

* * *

><p><strong>In the Mountains <strong>

_Finally!_ Jiraiya thought relived. He stepped inside the cottage. "Hellooo anyone home?" He wandered around until he reached the back. There was a greenhouse and inside of it was an old woman in a pink kimono. The herbalist turned around when she heard the door open. A white-haired man who looked like he was in his fifties came in.

For once Jiraiya did not waste any time doing something perverted and got straight to the point, "Are you a herbalist?"

"Yes, I am. What is it that ails you?"

"The problem isn't me. It's my apprentice. He seems to have fallen sick and I can't tell what's wrong with him."

"Tell me the symptoms," the woman turned back to her plants.

The Toad Sannin told her and wandered over to the plant with big juicy looking berries. Angela, the Herbalist, knew exactly what was wrong with Naruto. _If the boy had consumed a large quantity of the water he would not have fallen sick. And that would mean he would have stopped aging for a decade or two. Since he did become sick, means he only took in a little. That is good; it means he should get better soon. I don't really know for sure what happens when someone consumes small amounts of the liquid, but it seems he or she becomes sick. According to my calculations, the effects shouldn't last more than ten days._

Angela was the widow of the priest who Orochimaru had tortured to gain information about eternal life. Before he was taken, the man feared his life would end soon. And according to tradition, his eldest son or daughter would be next in line to guard this secret.

But Angela was barren; she could not have any children. So the priest had told the next best person, his wife. Angela continued watering the plant as she pondered the situation. _If everything according to legends is true, that means—_

Angela's thoughts were interrupted when the pervert said the berries looked quite good.

"Don't eat those, they're poisonous."

But it was too late seeing that the white-haired man had already eaten a couple. The herbalist turned back to see the sannin on the floor clutching his stomach in pain. Angela walked over to Jiraiya,"Well the good news is I know what's wrong with your apprentice. He should be fine in a few days time."

The stupid idiot on the floor groaned, "I will never again eat blue berries as long as I live." _Which doesn't seem to be too far away. _Jiraiya cried internally.

"That is only the first symptom. Next side effects include: nausea, headaches, hallucinations and eventually you'll fall unconscious. It really depends on the strength of your immune system."

Angela ordered Jiraiya to go lie down in the second room down the hall. The white-haired pervert managed to drag himself into the room and onto the bed all the while cursing those berries.

* * *

><p><strong>Orochimaru's Hideout <strong>

Naruto's heart was pounding fast and he was panicking. He could swear the stupid tweezers were mocking him. The faces of the snake creep and his just as creepy assistant were too close for comfort. Fortunately for the chibi blonde, someone threw open the door, unfortunately, it was a Sound ninja.

But fortunately he had some bad news, "Lord Orochimaru! Someone has infiltrated the base. W-we can't stop him. He's too fast."

The Snake Sannin was surprised. _I didn't think they would be able to find the hideout so fast._ Kabuto volunteered to go but Orochimaru stopped him. "You have no need to go."

"But-"

"Ha! I told you daddy would come." Naruto grinned triumphantly.

Orochimaru smirked at Naruto, "Yes you're right." He turned back to Kabuto. "Why don't you entertain Naruto while I'm away? I wouldn't want him to be bored. What kind of host would I be then?"

The teen smiled, "Of course."

The pale man grinned deviously before biting his thumb and making some hands signs, "Summoning Jutsu." There was a poof and a large dark green boa constrictor appeared. "Follow Kabuto's commands and keep our little guest entertained."

"Well then if you'll excuse me I have to show my old friend a new poison I've developed. After all, even the Sharingan won't be able to do anything against it." With that said, Orochimaru left the room.

Kabuto picked up an injection full of purple-brown sludge in it. He motioned for the snake to come closer. "So Naruto, which one would you prefer first? The snake venom or the poison in this injection."

The blonde boy's eyed widen and he screamed, "DADDY HELP ME!"

"I'm afraid your "daddy" is too late." Kabuto turned to the snake, "Why don't you do the honors first?"

The snaked opened his mouth and launched forward. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the dark slimy end. But nothing happened. Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see the surprised face of Kabuto. The snake was lying on the ground, soon there was a poof and he disappeared.

The grey-haired teen snapped his head around, scanning his surrounding and saw a tall silhouette walking towards him. Kabuto smirked, "So you slipped through Lord Orochimaru's grasp. Are you a new member of the Akatsuki? Lord Orochimaru never mentioned you."

The man didn't say anything, he just stood near the edge of the room, and darkness still enveloped him. "There is no way an amateur can fool a Sannin. Itachi is probably fighting him right now. You came here to take Naruto thinking there wouldn't be a guard around."

Kabuto knew if the man was in Akatsuki he would definitely be S-rank. He was just talking to create time to come up with the perfect plan. "Aren't you going to let me see your face? But then again, I don't need to see it to kill you."

The medic-nin sped towards the man, chakra scalpels ready to cut. But the tall silhouette merely stepped aside. Kabuto became unbalanced since he missed but quickly caught himself. He appeared next to Naruto.

"You'll have to kill me before you can get to the blonde brat." Kabuto placed the chakra scalpel next to Naruto's neck. "And even if you do that, you're in the heart of the base, there is no escape for you from here except death. My entire plan was to keep you here long enough for the rest of the Sound ninja to arrive. You're done." Kabuto grinned victoriously.

The Akatsuki ninja just held out his hand and said two words.

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><p>The Snake Sannin searched the base arrived in the east wing. The entire wing was destroyed. There was nothing left of it. <em>What the hell? Who did this? I know Itachi doesn't know any jutsu which could cause such destruction.<em>

Orochimaru had the senses of a snake. So he felt the vibrations coming from the laboratory before they actually hit him. His cold yellow eyes widened and he rushed out before he could get crushed by the collapsing structure.

The pale man barely avoided becoming part of the onslaught caused by the mysterious jutsu. He made his way up tallest tree to study from an overview. "H-how is this possible? The entire place has been hazed to the ground!"

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><p>Naruto opened his eyes. He felt a familiar swish and swoosh around him. It was like the time Itachi had carried him. The chibi blonde remembered about the creeps that wanted to hurt him and then someone had come and saved him.<p>

The man looked down to see Naruto looking at him with teary eyes. The man wasn't Itachi; Naruto slammed his head against the man's chest before screaming.

"UNCLE CARROT-TOP!"

Pain's intelligent reply, "Wha-?"

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><p>If you don't know the name of the attack Pain used, I'm going to assume you've been living under a rock ^_^<p>

**Next Update: **Saturday June 30, 2012

**REVIEW! DON'T JUST ADD THE STORY TO YOUR FAVORITE/ALERT LIST! *Sniff* Meanies!...Okay kidding. **

**But really, please review ^_^**


	9. Kushina And Chibi Itachi

**Chapter 9: Kushina And Chibi Itachi**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Hinata tells Sai about Naruto. Sakura concludes Sai to be as thick-headed as Naruto. Jiraiya eats poisonous berries and gets sick. Pain rescues Naruto from Orochimaru.

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><p>Orochimaru gawked in shock at his base, or at least what was left of it. <em>Damn! I don't remember anyone in the Akatsuki who can use such a jutsu. So was he or she a new member? Or…was it Pain?<em> He didn't know what the organization's Leader could do so there was a high chance the intruder was Pain.

Finally snapping out of stupor, he made his way to the center of the destruction. What he found displeased him immensely. Orochimaru could barely make out Kabuto's body. It was crushed beyond recognition.

But the glasses and the few grey hair yet to be tainted by blood were a dead giveaway. The Snake Sannin's eyes narrowed dangerously. His face twisted into an ugly mask of rage. He had been so close to immortality he could practically taste it!

_It is impossible to capture the jinchūriki brat now. Pain will make sure of that. But I will get my hands on that boy even if it's the last thing I do. And I will finally learn the secrets of immortality_. Orochimaru's face settled into a grin. _Yes, I will wait and watch. And strike when my enemies least expect it._

The Snake Sannin turned back and started to head toward the base up north. _Right now I need to find a replacement for Kabuto. It's going to be quite hard. He was talented, much like his dearly departed mother._

Kisame and Itachi were heading back to the base. Konan had ordered them to return via paper butterflies. They were the last ones to arrive. The blue-haired woman was talking to Deidara and Sasori about a mission they were to go on the next day.

Itachi and Kisame came up to Konan as she dismissed the artist duo. "So, I take it the little brat has been found?" the shark man grinned.

"Yes, he's safe now."

Kisame looked around," I don't see him."

"He'll be here in about 2 hours."

"Who found him?" this time it was Itachi who asked.

"Pain did." Konan replied.

This surprised the two missing ninja. "I thought he was on a mission?" Kisame looked curious. But Konan had disappeared by then. Itachi silently went to his room. His partner shrugged and went to the kitchen. He was hungry.

* * *

><p>Pain looked down to the blonde boy in his arms. <em>He's awake<em>. The ginger-haired man saw Naruto looking at him with teary eyes. The little boy slammed his head against Pain's chest, opened his mouth and screamed.

"UNCLE CARROT-TOP!"

Pain—Leader of Akatsuki, Kage level shinobi, trained by the Toad Sannin, the second coming of the Sage of Six Paths and wielder of the Rinnegan—said the first thing that came to his mind, "Wha-?"

Nagato winced_. If I could feel anything through the Six Paths of Pain, Naruto would have broken my ribcage and probably killed me._

Naruto clutched Pain's shirt and went off," I-I was just done c-cleaning w-when H-Hidan left a-and I got lost. A-and then this m-man said he'll take m-me to daddy a-and I don't remember after that. A-and then I woke up and t-this one other man said he'd hurt me. B-but you came U-uncle Carrot-Top and s-saved me. D-did you beat the bad guys?"

Two thoughts passed through the Rinnegan wielders mind. _Again with the Uncle Carrot-Top thing._ _And how can he say all that in _one_ breath_.

Pain looked emotionlessly at Naruto, "I hope this teaches you to never take anything from strangers. Or next time I'll just let those men have you."

"I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!" Naruto swore.

* * *

><p><strong>Akatsuki Tower<strong>

Konan went to the Tower to check on Nagato. She walked in and saw him sigh and shake his head. She looked curiously at her partner, "Nagato?" The sole female Akatsuki member was the only one who did not call Nagato "Pain."

"What is it?"

Nagato told Konan about Naruto calling the Deva Path "Uncle Carrot-Top." The blue-haired woman smiled a little. She thought about younger Yahiko. Had someone called him "carrot-top" he would have thrown a tantrum. The older Yahiko, when he was Akatsuki's leader, would have found it amusing though slightly annoying.

The red-haired man couldn't help but feel wistful whenever Naruto called him—well the Deva Path—uncle. He felt a connection of sorts, much like how he felt with Yahiko and Konan. The two were like siblings to him. It didn't help the fact that the boy looked and acted like Yahiko.

And then there was the name, Naruto_. If I remember correctly, Jiraiya sensei said something about the name sake of a character in his book being taken from my own name. Naruto and Nagato._ The Rinnegan wielder frowned a little. _I remember that conversation now, probably because of the name. _Nagato couldn't help but feel that it was important somehow._ Naruto is a rare name. _

* * *

><p>Itachi was sitting in his room, thinking. He was worried he was becoming too attached to Naruto. Itachi felt guilty for enjoying having Naruto around. The little walking ball of sunshine always managed to brighten up his day. Itachi felt as if he was betraying Sasuke by being happy when the younger Uchiha wasn't.<p>

Itachi had never taught Sasuke how to properly throw a shuriken much less teach him any jutsu like he planned to with Naruto. He shook his head to clear away the thoughts. Now wasn't the time. When the blonde jinchūriki had been kidnapped, Itachi wanted to get him back. _Why?_ Itachi thought to himself.

_Obviously because it was extremely dangerous for him to be with that man. He's a criminal, a missing ninja. Orochimaru would only harm Naruto. But then, what about Akatsuki? It is just as bad for Naruto to be here if not worse. The organization is full of S-rank ninja whose mission is to hunt people like Naruto. Sure he is safe for now but it isn't going to last forever. _

Itachi thought Naruto had two years at most. _Because I _have_ to cleanse the Uchiha name. And after I die, someone else will take care of Naruto. How will he react to my death?_ Itachi closed his eyes and massaged his head.

_No_, the dark-haired ninja thought_. He doesn't even have that much time. Pain seems to be adapt in the Sealing Arts. He'll find some way_. Then another thought passed Itachi's head and he wished it hadn't. _What if they torture him? Or put him in situations that will break him mentally and emotionally? I don't want him to go through what I did_. The Uchiha winced at the horror he'd seen, brought upon by war.

"No," Itachi thought out loud, "I won't let it go there. I'll have to get Naruto away from here as soon as I can." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "When he's gone I'll stop becoming so attached to him." Itachi whispered to himself.

_I've lived without my family and my village for so long. I can't let myself get attached now. It'll be harder to let go later. I don't want to let Naruto get too close to me…but_ _it's hard not to_. Itachi smiled as the memory started to replay in his head.

* * *

><p><strong>Itachi's Flashback Begins<strong>

It was another beautiful day in the Leaf village. Itachi, five years old, was smiling as he walked back home. He decided this was, by far, the best year of his life. The war had ended, he'd learned how to do the Fireball jutsu and best of all, he had become a big brother. Unfortunately his good day was about to go bad.

"Itachi," someone called out.

The little boy turned to see one of his cousins. "Hello, um, good evening." Itachi forgot the teenage boy's name. He had always called, not out loud, the boy Squeaky because he was a total neat freak. Everything about him—his family, his home—was always squeaky clean.

"Good thing I caught you here. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Your mom and Sasuke are going to spend the night at your aunt's house. She suddenly became sick."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes no worries she's fine." Squeaky smiled. "The problem is that your father is going to be stuck in an emergency meeting with the other Clan heads and the Hokage. You might have to spend the night alone."

Itachi was about to say something when his cousin interrupted him. "So your father sent a message to my father. You'll be spending the night with my family."

Itachi pouted, he didn't want to stay with Squeaky and his family. His cousin didn't even notice when Itachi slipped out because he was too busy prattling on about what an honor it was to have the Uchiha heir stay at his house.

Said heir ran as fast as he could and left the Uchiha compound. He knew he shouldn't but it was only going to be for a little while. He wanted to enjoy his freedom while it lasted. Itachi wandered over to the market place and was fascinated.

Itachi was rarely allowed to leave the compound because he was the heir and much too young. It was "too" dangerous for him to be out and about. There were so many people wearing different colored clothes, all laughing and smiling. The men and women of the Uchiha clan didn't always laugh out so loud and seem so relaxed. And they only wore three colors: black, blue, and red. It was a nice change.

Itachi wandered about for a little more than an hour. He figured he should head back now since it was getting close to dinner time. Unfortunately he had no idea where he was. Itachi looked around; it was starting to get dark. He wondered who he should ask for directions.

"Itachi, is that you?" The young boy snapped out of his thoughts as he heard some call out his name.

A woman with long beautiful red hair and noticeably large stomach came up to him. She stood next to Itachi and grinned down at him. Itachi knew her; she was his mother's friend. He'd met her plenty of times.

"Hello Aunt Kushina," Itachi smiled. Even though she wasn't related to him he still called her aunt and kind of wished she was. She was really funny and had the guts to make jokes about his father right in front of the man's face.

"What are you doing here? I don't see Mikito or Lord Stick-up-his-butt," Kushina asked looking around.

"Mother and Sasuke are at my aunt's house because she became sick. And father is in a meeting. I'm actually supposed to stay with Squeaky and his family tonight," Itachi replied. He was used to hearing the red-haired woman call his father several nicknames.

"Who's Squeaky?" Kushina asked.

"Oh, well," Itachi blushed. Kushina was a carefree type of person so Itachi tended to forget about manners and spoke his mind.

"He's one of my cousins. I can't remember his name because I can only think about how squeaky clean he is."

The red-haired woman snickered. "There may be hope for you. So why are you here if you're supposed to stay with your cousin?"

"I don't really want to stay with him," Itachi pouted.

Kushina grinned, "How about we talk about it over dinner? I'm sure you're hungry."

"Yes, thank you," Itachi answered.

Soon the two were sitting at Ichiraku's enjoying their meal. Itachi was surprised at how fast Kushina ate her ramen.

"I think I'll have another misao," Kurama's host put down the empty ramen bowl.

"Maybe you shouldn't Aunt Kushina," Itachi looked at the woman's big stomach.

Kushina smirked, "You'll never get yourself a girlfriend with an attitude like that."

"I don't want one!" Itachi blushed, "Sorry."

"It's no big deal. 'Sides I'm big not because of the ramen but because I'm pregnant."

Itachi remembered his mother was also big like Kushina, when she was pregnant with Sasuke. After they were done the two left.

Itachi sighed, "Will you walk me home Aunt Kushina? I don't know the way."

"Sure thing, but if you want, you can stay with me."

"Really?" Itachi asked, "But what about my cousin and his family?"

"I'll take care of it." Soon they were in Kushina's apartment with the owner chattering away. The two were sitting on the sofa when Kushina gasped and held her stomach.

"What happened?" asked Itachi.

"The baby just kicked. He started about a week ago," Kushina smiled and rubbed her mid-section lovingly.

"Do you want to feel the baby kicking, Itachi?"

"Sure," the Uchiha heir had already experienced this with Sasuke but he was still curious about it. He moved closer and put his head to the side of his aunt's belly.

"I don't hear anything."

"Just wait a minute." Right as the pregnant woman finished the baby kicked.

Itachi snapped back, eye wide holding his cheek. "The baby kicked harder than Sasuke ever did."

Kushina started laughing. "Yeah well, I guess he takes after me. Minato thought so too."

"What's the baby's name?"

"His name is Naruto."

"Like the ramen topping?"

"That too but from where I come from, the Land of Whirlpool, it is means maelstrom."

"What's a maelstrom? And why have I never heard of the Land of Whirlpool?"

"A maelstrom is a powerful whirlpool in a river or sea. As for the Land of Whirlpool, the reason you've never heard of it is because it was destroyed before you were even born," Kushina explained.

"What was the village like before it was destroyed?" Itachi asked curiously.

"That could take a while. Why don't I show you the guest room and we'll continue there." Kushina knew she tended to get carried away and could go on for hours. Itachi would probably end up falling asleep on the sofa.

The two went into the room and settled onto the bed. Kushina began the tales of her crazy adventures which continued in the Leaf village. She spent two hours telling Itachi stories. The little boy is fascinated because the only stories he'd heard were about war and death alike. And the Uchiha don't read their young something as useless as fairy tales.

"You're so brave for moving away from your home and living happily here. I don't think I could ever do that."

"The people here are really what made it feel like home to me."

"I bet one of those people is the Fourth Hokage."

Kushina was surprised at Itachi. He knew about her and Minato. Then again it shouldn't be so surprising since he'd seen them together with his parents. She thought about what Itachi said and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny Aunt Kushina?"

"I-It's just, the first time I saw Minato I thought he was a flake. He looked like a wimp."

"Really?" Itachi looked surprised. _Our super strong Hokage was a wimp? Wait, what's a flake?_

"Yeah, but a certain incident changed my mind."

"What incident?"

Kushina told him the story about being kidnapped by Cloud ninja and getting rescued by Minato. He was the first person to tell her how beautiful her hair was.

Itachi looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think you're hair is pretty too."

Kushina placed kiss on his forehead, "Well that makes two people who think that. Alright you need to sleep now."

Itachi nodded his head and crawled into the covers. Kushina looked at Itachi and smiled. She couldn't wait until Naruto was born. Then she and Minato would have a child of their own to tell stories to and put to bed.

Kushina got up and turned of the light as she left. As she was closing the door she paused and thought out loud, "Why do I have a feeling I'm forgetting something?"

Halfway across the village the Uchiha clan was in an uproar because the heir had been kidnapped. Kushina shrugged, "Ah well, must not have been important then."

* * *

><p><strong>Itachi's Flashback Ends<strong>

Itachi chuckled at the memory. That little incident had caused quite a lot of chaos.

Two hours later, Pain and Naruto arrived at the base. They were in Pain's office at the moment. The ginger-haired man put Naruto down, "Now, stay out of trouble. Or else I'll send you back to those men as punishment."

Naruto nodded his head quickly and ran out of the room.

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><p>Bet you weren't expecting that! :)<p>

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	10. Just another Day, Sort of

**Chapter 10: Just another Day…Sort of**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Orochimaru finds Kabuto dead. Itachi has a flash back about the time he was 5 and hung out with Kushina. Pain brings Naruto back to the base.

**THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED. YOU'RE ALL BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL!**

* * *

><p>Itachi knew Naruto was back before he was tackled by a yellow flash. He winced. <em>I think Naruto just broke a rib or two<em>. Itachi was glad he'd been sitting. Otherwise he would have crashed onto the floor in a very un-S-rank missing ninja like fashion. The little blonde boy hugged his daddy tightly, afraid to let go.

A nostalgic feeling washed over him. _Sasuke would always come running and do the same thing whenever he had a nightmare_. Itachi ruffled Naruto's hair in a comforting manner. He felt the five year old relax and loosen his grip.

"It's okay Naruto."

The blonde lifted his head up and smiled, "Yeah, I know. I missed you daddy."

"Did they hurt you?" Itachi asked with a masked expression.

The chibi jinchūriki shot a grin as bright as his hair. "They tried to. But I wasn't scared or anything!"

The dark-haired man chuckled in amusement. "I'm sure you weren't."

"Yeah, it wasn't like I was screaming and panicking." Naruto stated gallantly.

"Of course," the Uchiha replied. _I'm sure he must have been terrified and screaming for me to come help him. _Itachi sighed._ I failed him_.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"It's because of Uncle Carrot-Top! He was so cool. He was like POW! And the bad guy was like NO! And…"

Naruto went into full explanation mode with lots of facial expressions and hand gestures. He ended up exaggerating the fight a little…well, maybe a lot. Something with Pain striking a superhero pose as Kabuto lay on the ground looking awed before saying he could never have defeated Pain and Naruto and worshiped the ground they stood on.

"Uncle Carrot-Top? Please tell me you didn't call Pain that to his face," Itachi groaned. He could only imagine the cryptic lecture he would be getting.

"Of course I didn't," Naruto smiled innocently.

Itachi exhaled.

"I screamed it at him!" the blonde grinned proudly.

Itachi anime sweat-dropped.

"Alright, tell me how you got kidnapped." If Hidan had any part in it—which he most likely did—then the silver-haired man was going to have to deal with a very unhappy Uchiha.

"Oh, okay. After me and the old man finished cleaning, we went to the market place."

"That's not what you're supposed to say Naruto."

"But he has white hair," the chibi jinchūriki whined.

"Yes that's true; you may call him old man if you want. I meant "me and old man" is not proper grammar. You're supposed to say "old man and I."

"…"

"Never mind go on."

"The grumpy old man went to the market and I lost him." Naruto suddenly remembered why he lost Hidan. "Oh! Oh oh, I saw a person selling bubbles. Can we go buy bubbles? Please!"

"Buy bubbles? You mean a bottle of Bubble Makers. Sure."

"Yes! Okay what was I saying? Losing the grumpy old man, right, I remember. I was lost and then this boy with glasses found me and said he would take me to you. And then he gave me candy and I got sleepy and then I remember waking up somewhere and there was a creepy guy with the glasses boy."

"Orochimaru," Itachi growled.

"Yeah, that weirdo with the stupid hair. I told him daddy's hair is way prettier."

The Uchiha chuckled and shook his head before getting serious. Itachi looked Naruto right in the eye. "Never ever take candy or anything from a stranger. In fact, I don't want you talking to strangers at all. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Good. We have three hours before dinner time so how about we get back to training?"

The five year old boy's eyes lit up. "I totally forgot!"

Itachi smiled as Naruto jumped of the bed and pulled the elder man along with him. "We can go buy you those bubbles after dinner."

The chibi jinchūriki pumped his fist into the air. "Let's go!"

It was then the dark-haired young man saw it. He bent down to the little boy's level. "Naruto, where did you get that?"

"Huh?" The blonde looked at his right hand. On his thumb was a ring.

"Uncle Carrot-Top gave it to me."

Naruto studied his daddy curiously. Itachi stiffened when he saw the ring. It was black, with white writing, kanji for "Human Sacrifice" on it.

"Yeah, it was when…"

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Begins: Earlier that Day <strong>

Naruto yawned for the third time as he tried to keep up with Konan. She was escorting him to Pain's office. He had been cleaning up the base with Hidan for the past hour or so. When they had to go clean the Weight Room, Konan had shown up. She said it was too dangerous for Naruto to be around the big heavy equipment.

_Phew. I get to have a little break_. The blonde boy shivered as he recalled Hidan's reaction when the man stepped into the weight room. His face became a nice puke green and his body convulsed as he gagged.

"Here you are."

Naruto noticed that the two were now standing in Pain's office. Konan turned and left.

"Come over here," Pain commanded from his place next to the big window. Naruto obeyed, too nervous to talk. _Why am I here? Am I going to get another punishment?_

The pierced man held out his hand. "Here, take it."

The blonde jinchūriki took the object from Pain's palm, a black ring with white writing. "Cool!" His nervousness was now forgotten.

"I always wanted one just like the one my daddy has!"

"Now put it on."

"Wait, can I have one in orange? Maybe with—? "

"No," Pain bluntly shot Naruto down.

"But—" One look from Pain stopped him in mid-sentence.

"Put it on your right ring finger."

"…"

"On your right hand the finger next to your pinky."

"It's too big," Naruto held his hand up. The ring was loose.

"Fine, put it on your thumb then."

The five year old did as he was told and put the ring on his right thumb. "Hey, it fits now."

Pain sighed. "I had intended for you to wear it on the same finger as Itachi since you're his ward. But it can't be helped now."

Only the leader wore the ring on the right thumb.

The ring had a tracker built in it. Naruto could be tracked by Nagato—and only Nagato—no matter where he was. The ring contained a tiny amount of the Rinnegan wielder's chakra in it.

"Naruto, don't ever take that ring off."

No answer.

"Are you listening to me?"

"…"

Naruto, in fact, was not listening. He was too busy admiring his new accessory. Pain crossed his arms and cleared his throat. The chibi jinchūriki looked up to see the ginger-haired man glaring at him.

"Heh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I said don't ever take the ring off."

"Okay, got it."

"Now get back to work."

Naruto pouted. Pain glared. Naruto ran for it.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Ends <strong>

"Isn't it awesome? But I kind of wished it was orange. Oh well. Let's go train now!"

"Alright," Itachi sighed. He didn't like what the ring stood for. But there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

><p><strong>Hidden Rain Village: Training Ground <strong>

Itachi was sitting on a rock mediating while Naruto was busy trying to tear a pile of leaves with his chakra. It took him twenty minutes but he finally got it.

"You can now go onto the next chakra control exercise. Tree walking," Itachi sent chakra to his feet and climbed tree.

"Now you try it."

Naruto got the hang of it in an hour. Itachi figured it probably had something to with the fact that Naruto already, in his subconscious, knew how to do it.

The duo was now walking to a lake so Naruto could practice water walking. They saw a familiar face.

"Hey Itachi," Kisame greeted his partner before looking at Naruto, "Midget."

"I'm not a midget!" Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"Kisame," Itachi nodded his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm fishing us some dinner."

"What about you?"

"Since there was nothing else to do, I decided to train Naruto. Low level chakra control exercises and such."

The Shark man snorted, "You sure the shrimp can handle it? It might be too much for the little baby."

Naruto wrinkled his face and waved his hand in front of his face. "Daddy, can we go train somewhere else? It smells really fishy here."

Kisame grinned evilly and started in deep scary voice to freak the chibi jinchūriki. "Surely you're not talking about me?"

"Can we go to the aquarium daddy?" Naruto looked up at his dark-haired ninja. Itachi had been considering training somewhere else to avoid the arguments that would surely erupt between his son and his partner. The question about the aquarium confused him.

"Why?"

"To tell them we found their missing shark."

Itachi snickered. Naruto beamed at him while Kisame stared open mouthed. Before another argument could break out, a giant bird landed a few yards away from them. Deidara jumped off and walked up to the trio.

"Hey," the blonde artist greeted lazily.

"I thought you were going to take some chic on a joyride? Did she ditch you?" Kisame asked.

_How do you take a chicken on a joyride? Wait, what's a joyride? _The chibi blonde wondered.

"No," Deidara glared. "_I_ ditched _her, _yeah. She kept screaming bloody murder the entire time. Guess she couldn't take being hundreds of feet up in the air too well."

Itachi had made up his mind about going to another Training Ground. He was about to tell Naruto when Deidara interrupted him.

"By the way, Kakuzu wants to see you. He said it'll only take about ten minutes," the ex-Iwa ninja was obviously annoyed having to talk to the Uchiha.

_Ten minutes? It'll be faster if I go alone._ The Sharingan wielder looked at his son. "I'll go by myself. Stay here and don't cause problems."

"Okay," Naruto grinned and Itachi disappeared. Kisame smirked, with his partner gone; it was going to be easy terrorizing the midget.

"Hey shrimp, what're you going to do now? With Itachi gone there's no one left to protect you."

"I don't need anyone to protect me from you, fishie!" Kurama's host huffed.

"Who're you calling fishie, midget?"

"Ha! Is midget all you got, fish fry?"

* * *

><p><strong>10 Minutes Later<strong>

"Gil face!"

"Small fry!"

"Fish stick!"

"You're one to talk, fish _cake_!"

_I wish I had some popcorn_. Deidara was sitting on the grass. He had been watching Kisame and Naruto go at it back and forth like a tennis match. They were his source of entertainment.

"At least I don't smell like a stinking fish!"

"Oh is that so?" Kisame grabbed a fish he'd caught with one hand and picked Naruto up by the back of his shirt with the other hand.

"Hey! Let go you stupid fish-out-of-water!"

"Why? Don't you want to make friends?" the blue-skinned man put the dead fish right under the struggling little boy's nose.

Naruto somehow grabbed the fish out of Kisame's hand and…

Thwack!

…smacked him right in the face with it.

"…"

"Bwahahaha!" Deidara burst out laughing. Kisame's face was priceless. The way his mouth was hanging open made him look like well… a dead fish.

Kisame started flabbergasted. "Did you just—"

Thwack!

Naruto smacked the Shark man with the dead fish once again. Deidara was rolling on the ground clutching his stomach with laughter.

"You want some more? Huh? Well do you, beady eyes?" Naruto huffed.

Kisame was furious to say the least. He let out some killer intent and the bravado immediately left the chibi jinchūriki. The killer intent helped Deidara snap out of his laughing state. The blood drained out of Naruto's face and he dropped the dead fish. He tried to get out of the Mist ninja's grip.

"You little freak!" Kisame shook the five year old with force.

"Wow, Kisame my man take it easy. Don't kill him."

"So you _wouldn_'t blow the shit out of someone that slapped _you_ in the face with a dead fish!"

"Well true, but…"

"Exactly," the Swordsman emphasized the word by shaking Naruto with even greater force. The small boy whimpered.

_What Kisame is saying is perfectly understandable, yeah. But I wouldn't have a pissed of Konan after me if I did. The jinchūriki is important._ The ex-Iwa ninja paused for a moment. _Aw hell Itachi's going to be here in ten seconds. He probably felt Kisame's killer intent, yeah._

Deidara decided to help Naruto because if Konan—or maybe Pain—found out about this they'd have his head on a silver platter. He stood in front of the hulking blue-skinned man and put one hand around Naruto's waist with the other one in his clap pouch. In case the guy tried to attack _him_.

"Kisame you better let him go because Itachi is—"

"Not here," snarled a very pissed of ninja.

_Ugh,_ _Itachi's going to be here in four seconds. Kisame's too angry to sense him_. Deidara wrapped his other arm around Naruto. "C'mon Kisame he'd just a kid. Let go."

"NO! You let go. The brat's going to—"

"What is going on?" Itachi asked sharply as he landed near the trio.

Kisame let go of Naruto, shocked by the sudden appearance of his partner. Had it not been for Deidara, Naruto would have fallen to the ground. The elder blonde quickly moved a few yards away from the frozen Mist ninja.

Itachi's eyes snapped to Naruto who was now clutching the former Iwa ninja. The whiskered boy snuck a peek around him and saw Itachi.

"Daddy!"

The Sharingan wielder turned to the two blondes. "Deidara, can you take Naruto back to the Base?"

"Sure, yeah," the pyromaniac replied. He had no desire to stick around the Uchiha if he didn't have to. They two blondes were on the clay bird and feeling the breeze before Naruto could object.

As soon as the clay bird was out of hearing range, Itachi turned on his partner. "You have ten seconds." He was a pacifist after all.

"L-look, Itachi, I was just having a little fun."

"…"

"Here slapped in the face with a dead fish!"

"…"

"I wouldn't have killed him. I was just teaching him a lesson."

"…"

Kisame was getting the jitters from Itachi's creepy staring. To make matters worse, his ten seconds were now up. The former Mist ninja started to say something but stopped because Itachi interrupted him.

"I didn't give you ten seconds to tell me that," Itachi stated coldly.

The Shark man gulped. _I wonder if he'll give me another ten second head start._ Again, he is a pacifist._ Maybe if I ask nicely?_

Worth a try.

Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan…or maybe not.

"Oh fu—"

* * *

><p><strong>Akatsuki Base: On the Roof <strong>

"Get off," Deidara commanded. "Or I am going to push you off."

"You don't have to be so mean you know." Naruto said as he got off the clay bird. Deidara took to the air without a second glance.

The blonde boy looked at the sky. _I though daddy said Uncle Carrot-Top made the rain stop only on Sundays. But isn't it Monday today?_

"I bet daddy is totally kicking that stupid fishy's butt!"

Naruto made his way towards the door all the while day dreaming about Itachi beating Kisame black and blue. "Wait; since fish stick is already blue, what other color would he turn?"

"Huh?" The blonde boy turned the knob. "It's locked." He tried to open the door several times but without success.

"What should I do n—Of course!"

Naruto ran to the edge of the roof and looked, "Gulp." He took a deep breath and sent chakra to his feet. The five year old carefully climbed over the edge and started walking down the side of the building.

Fortunately, the building didn't have as many wires and pipes thus making it easier for Naruto. He wouldn't have to step over anything.

"Hey, this is pretty easy."

Naruto grinned, "A window!" It was at least six feet tall and three feet wide. _Now, I just have to—_

The window opened and Naruto saw Pain. "Uncle Carrot-Top! Looky what I can do!"

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Standing on the side of the building."

"I see that. Why are you standing on the side of the building?"

"Because the door was locked and I couldn't take the stairs."

"How did you did you get—Never mind just get inside."

"How do I do that?"

"…"

Nagato forgot he was talking to a five year old.

"Here, just take my hand and I'll pull you in."

"Okay. Please don't drop me."

Pain safely pulled Naruto inside.

"Thanks Uncle Carrot-Top!"

"Don't call me that."

"What about Uncle Ginger Man."

"No."

"What about—"

"No."

Naruto pouted.

"Where is Itachi? He'd supposed to keep an eye on you not let you run wild."

"Daddy's beating up the evil blue man."

"Evil blue man? Kisame? Doesn't matter. Itachi's back. I'll just—"

"Yay! Daddy's back!" Naruto shot out of the room.

"I wasn't done talking to you," Pain said. "Kids these days," Nagato grumbled.

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	11. Worst Day in Akatsuki History Part I

**Chapter 11: Part I of The Worst Day in Akatsuki History. It Really Stunk…**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**Previously**: Naruto tells Itachi about receiving an Akatsuki ring, getting captured, taken to Orochimaru, and rescued by Pain. Naruto and Kisame get into a name calling fight. Kisame gets beat up by Itachi. Nagato sulks about disrespectful children.

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><p>"Daddy!"<p>

Naruto raced down to meet Itachi and fly tackled the Uchiha when he saw him. Itachi caught the blonde in his arms to prevent him from falling to the floor.

"Where's fish stick? I bet you totally kicked his butt!"

Itachi smiled, "I don't think he'll be bothering anyone for a while. Back to what we were doing, do you want to continue training or take a break?"

"Mm, I want to take a break," the chibi jinchūriki grinned with big innocent eyes hoping Itachi would catch on.

"I take it you want to go to buy a bottle of Bubble Makers?"

"Yes!" Naruto cheered.

"First, let's get some money. And a jacket for you, it's raining," Itachi made his way to their room.

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><p><strong>Hidden Rain Village: Market Place<strong>

Naruto looked around in awe. He pushed the hood of his blue jacket back. It was too big and kept falling into his eyes, much to Itachi's amusement.

"Daddy I want to walk," Naruto was being carried by Itachi.

"Its fine Naruto, I can carry you."

"But you're too slow," the little boy whined.

"I'll move faster then. But I'm not putting you down."

Naruto crossed his arms and tried to look serious. But his hood fell into in face again making the blonde boy pout and the dark-haired man smile. Itachi continued carrying the amazed little boy the entire way. _Maybe I am being a little too paranoid. No, no, better safe than sorry_. To be fair, parents are like that. And Itachi was a ninja. And Naruto had been kidnapped only that morning. So yeah, he was being paranoid.

"Over there," the chibi jinchūriki pointed excitedly. The duo walked to the man selling the bubbles.

"Hello there! Would you like to buy a bottle of Bubble Makers? How about two bottles and get the third one free?"

"We'll just take one," Itachi handed over the money. The bubble seller handed Naruto the bright yellow bottle.

Itachi took the change, "Thank you."

"Please come again."

The duo wandered around a little more before going back to the base.

"Naruto, don't open the bottle right now. The rain will get in."

"But I want to play with bubbles right now."

Itachi didn't get a chance to reply when Naruto's stomach grumbled making him laugh.

"Okay, okay, we'll play with bubbles later. Can I have some ice-cream?" begged the five year old.

"I don't know. You might spoil your dinner."

Naruto made a puppy dog face. Itachi relented; the boy had been kidnapped earlier that day. They bought a blue berry flavored ice cone. Itachi split it in half and gave one half to Naruto.

"Look daddy, my tongue's blue," Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"Yes it matches the color of your eyes."

"Yours is blue too," the chibi jinchūriki giggled making Itachi laugh.

They spent rest of the afternoon training. More accurately, Naruto practiced chakra control exercises such as Leaf Concentration while Itachi observed and gave helpful hints. Half the time during training Naruto slacked off. He chatted away with Itachi, who realized Naruto couldn't for the life of him maintain an attention span of 10 seconds. They stopped around 6 and ate dinner.

"Daddy can go play with bubbles now?"

"Of course," Itachi smiled. He realized he'd been smiling more often now.

The two went to went to a training room with a glass ceiling. Itachi sometimes went there by himself and looked at the rain showering down on the glass. Naruto quickly opened the yellow bottle and tried to make some bubbles. It didn't work.

"Daddy I think it's broken," said the young boy sadly.

"Why don't you let me try?" asked Itachi. Naruto handed over the yellow bottle. The Uchiha started to create bubbles. Naruto chased after them and screamed in delight.

"Aw," the chibi jinchūriki pouted as another one popped. He grinned and stuck his tongue out and tried to catch one in his mouth. It popped.

"Bleh, tastes like soap," Naruto made a face and Itachi laughed. They spent the rest of the day playing and slacking off.

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><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

"What would you like to have for breakfast, Naruto?" Itachi and Naruto were in the kitchen for breakfast.

"Mm, I want scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, and pancakes too!"

The Uchiha chuckled, "That's a lot of food. You sure you can eat it all?"

"Yep," Naruto responded cheerfully.

"Now, usually we have a cook to prepare and leave us food but since he's out I'll see what I can do. Do you want to help me?"

**10 Minutes Later**

"Daddy the eggs are burning!"

"I know. They're not _coming off_!"

"Wait Naruto, be caref—"

CLANG!

The bowl with the pancake mix crashed to the floor.

"Sorry," Naruto tried to apologize and his hand smacked into the milk carton which crashed into the juice carton effectively spilling both drinks. The duo carefully stepped away from the mess on the floor.

Itachi sighed. "Okay, how about we clean up and go out to eat?"

"Sure. We'll clean up the spilled juice and milk and—Daddy! The eggs are on fire!" He looked over the dark-haired man's shoulder.

"Yes, the spilled mess and the—EGGS ARE ON FIRE?!"

Itachi picked up Naruto and moved away from the burning pan. He put the blonde boy down across the room.

"Stand back," Itachi made hand signs and used a water jutsu to put out the fire.

"Ooh daddy that's so cool! Can you teach me? Please?"

"Fine, but let's clean up the kitchen first."

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><p><strong>45 Minutes Later<strong>

The father-son duo was wandering around the Market Place looking for a place to eat. Naruto was wearing his blue jacket and Itachi was back to carrying him.

"Daddy, I want ramen."

"Naruto, it's very unhealthy to eat something so heavy in the morning."

"But ramen is the food of the gods and should be enjoyed everyday at least 3 times: breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"Absolutely not," Itachi stated disapprovingly. "Eating so much ramen is far too unhealthy."

"Ramen gives me energy."

All food gives you energy, Naruto. Well, not including junk food. And if you don't start eat more fruits and vegetables, you won't grow any taller."

Naruto panicked before complaining, "But vegetables taste so gross."

"Well, you should at least try to stop eating so much junk. Besides, fruits taste good. So do some vegetables, like carrots."

Itachi paused. _Maybe I shouldn't tell him about carrots._ _If he finds out eating too many can turn you orange..._He shook his head.

Naruto sulked, "Fine."

"Let's go there," Itachi nodded toward the diner. The duo went inside and sat down. Some of the waitresses giggled while the waiters groaned. One of the waitresses rolled her eyes at her co-workers' silly behavior.

"Hello, what would you like to order?"

The Uchiha looked at Kurama's host. "What do you want to eat, Naruto?'

"I want a Happy Meal!"

(Kidding! I just couldn't resist :)

"I want a Grilled Cheese sandwich with tomato soup."

The waitress wrote it down and turned to Itachi.

"I'll have a Club sandwich."

"Would like anything to drink?"

The Uchiha looked at Naruto who just shrugged. "I want water, daddy."

"We'll just take water then."

The waitress headed back and was immediately surrounded by her co-workers.

"So, did you get his name?"

"Nope."

The other waitresses groaned and the waiters rolled their eyes.

"Although I think you might be interested to hear what he little boy calls him." She didn't wait for a response. "He calls him "daddy."

"Wha-?"

The waitress and the waiters laughed as their co-workers comically fell over.

Itachi and Naruto left after they were finished eating and went back to the base.

"Daddy, will you teach me that water jutsu you used? I want to do it to."

"Naruto we just ate. It's not a good idea to exercise right after you eat."

"But I really want to learn it."

"How about I first teach you what Elemental jutsu is?"

"Okay!"

* * *

><p><strong>The Akatsuki Base: Itachi &amp; Naruto's Room <strong>

Itachi took a card out of the drawer and gave it to Naruto.

"Here, put your chakra into it."

"What is it?"

"It is a special paper ninja use to determine what Elemental affinity he or she possesses. If the paper turns to ash, you have a Fire affinity, meaning you can use fire style jutsu. If the paper turns wet, you have Water. It wrinkles for Lightning affinity, crumbles for Earth affinity, and tears in if you have a Wind affinity."

Itachi sat down on his bed and motioned for Naruto to join him. He pulled out another one, "Watch this." He put his chakra into the card and half of it turned to ash while the other half became wet.

"Half of the ninja today have only one elemental affinity. Most people have two and so do I. Some ninja over the rank of jōnin can have up to 3. But that's pretty rare." The Uchiha thought of a certain grey-haired perverted jōnin.

"I want to try it!" Naruto enthusiastically checked his Elemental affinity. The card ripped.

"Aw," he was disappointed. The blonde boy was hoping for three but he only got one!

"Wind," Itachi said, not too surprised.

"Wait, so do you know any cool wind jutsu?"

"No."

"No fair!"

"Sorry Naruto," Itachi smiled apologetically. "I'll see if I can find any scrolls on it."

The chibi jinchūriki shrugged, "It's alright. Can we play Hide-and-Seek? Please?"

"Alright," the dark-haired young man agreed.

"Okay," Naruto jumped of the bed and took Itachi's hands and covered his face with them, "daddy you're it!"

"Count to 50," the blonde boy said as he looked for a place to hide.

"And don't peek!"

The Uchiha chuckled.

I stopped here because some people get discouraged by super short or super long chapters. That's why this chapter is only Part I and Chapter 12 will be Part II. I want a Grilled Cheese and Club sandwich right now. So hungry...

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><p><strong>Next Update: <strong>2 days

**Favorites**: 108 **Followers**: 118 **Reviews**: only 84? **Where's the love?**

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	12. Worst Day in Akatsuki History Part II

**Chapter 12: Part II of The Worst Day in Akatsuki History. It Really Stunk…**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. No real animal was harmed in way or form during this chapter.

**Previously**: Itachi buys Naruto bubbles. They sort of burn the kitchen and then go out to eat. Itachi gets fawned over. He teaches Naruto a little about Elemental Jutsu and then they play Hide-and-Seek.

**102 reviews!** Yeah, I'm feeling the love! (And I felt the pressure as I tried to finish Ch.12 in 2 days)

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><p>"Hm, if I do that—no it's better if I…"<p>

Deidara mumbled to himself as he made his way towards the base. He opened the building's door and headed straight to his room. The artist wanted to write down the modification he wanted to make to his Suicide Bombing Clone before he forgot. Busy in his thoughts, Deidara forgot to close the front door…a small black figure quietly snuck in.

**5 Minutes Later**

"Idiot," Hiruko growled as he closed the door. "Leaving the door open like that Deidara must be getting stupider by day."

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><p>"Aw daddy, how'd you know I was hiding there," Naruto pouted as he and Itachi went back to their room.<p>

"The constant giggled may have been a part of it."

"Heh, oops," Naruto rubbed the back of his head making Itachi chuckle.

"I'm going to go get some chocolate milk," the chibi jinchūriki stopped.

"I'll come with you," the Uchiha offered.

"No ,you don't have to. I can go by myself; I'm a big boy now."

Itachi gave his blonde son an amused look, "I'm sure you are. Be careful though, you have a tendency to get into trouble."

"I'll be fine daddy. You can go now," Naruto made a shooing motion with his hand. Itachi sighed and continued. The 5-year-old went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Where's the chocolate milk? Oh! There it is. But how am I going to get it from up there?"

Naruto closed the fridge door and went to get a chair. He stopped when he saw something under the chair.

"A kitty!" the blonde boy picked it put. "I always wanted puppy but kitty's fine too, even if it is kind of weird looking. I'll ask daddy if I can have him." He gasped. "Maybe if I ask daddy, he'll get me a puppy too! And then I can keep them both."

Naruto ran to find Itachi, chocolate milk forgotten. Not watching where he was going the chibi jinchūriki ran right into the other blonde Akatsuki member.

"Oi, watch where you're going brat," Deidara growled.

Naruto fell and dropped the animal. "Sorry, I just was excited because I went to get some chocolate milk and found a kitty and wanted to—"

"What? My chocolate milk? You can't have any, yeah," Deidara glared.

Naruto shrugged, "Okay then, I just—"

"What's going on here?" Hiruko walked towards the two blondes.

Kakuzu was right next to him, "We heard yelling about chocolate milk?"

"Nothing, un. The little brat wasn't watching where he was going."

"Why the hell were you running in the hallway?" Kakuzu and the artist ninja gazed at the blonde jinchūriki.

"I wanted to ask daddy if I could keep the kind of ugly black kitty with the white stripe." Naruto turned around and pointed at the frightened animal.

The said "cat" had pounced on his front paws and aimed. The Akatsuki members, minus an oblivious blonde boy, attempted to dodge but were far too late. The skunk fired.

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><p><em>What's taking him so long?<em> On cue, Itachi heard Naruto and Deidara scream plus Sasori and Kakuzu swear. He darted down the hallway the same time as Hidan. The Uchiha shot the Jashinist a suspicious look.

"What? Why you always gotta blame me?"

They stopped when they saw Naruto, Deidara, Kakuzu, and an open Hiruko with a red haired teen not far from it. A rotten stench caused the two new comers to cover their noses.

"What the fu—shi—hell's going on?" Hidan glared at Itachi before turning back.

Deidara looked angrily at Itachi, then Naruto, and back to Itachi. "Your stupid son brought a skunk into the base." He turned towards the red haired teen. "And if _Sasori_ had moved his big ass faster I wouldn't have been sprayed."

The redhead, Sasori, shot his partner a look of utter irritation. "As I recall, didn't you just come in. If _you_ hadn't left the door open the damn thing wouldn't even be here."

"Are you blaming this on me, yeah?"

"No, I'm saying it's my entire fault," Sasori's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Of course it's your fault. Maybe you should stop playing with you pathetic excuse of art because all the chemicals are destroying the little amount of brain cells you have."

"My pathetic excuse of art? C'mon Sasori you're just jealous because my art's more beautiful than yours, yeah."

"Please, everyone knows…"

And off they went.

Hidan laughed with his hand still covering his nose and mouth. "Damn Kakuzu, you always looked like shit and now you smell like it too."

A Kakuzu furious stalked toward his partner. The silver-haired immortal back away, "Oh hell no! Keep away from me or Jashin help me I'll—"

Itachi quietly took Naruto away in the confusion. He got out a pair of blue shorts and gave them to the smelly little boy.

"Here, Naruto, go change in the bathroom."

Naruto sniffed his shirt he was wearing and made a face, "Ewww! Shouldn't I just take a bath?"

"No," Itachi shook his head. "It'll only make you smell worse."

"Okay," he was walking to the door when he stopped. "So, daddy, I guess it means I'm not getting a kitty am I?"

"No you're not."

"What about a puppy?"

"Forget get it."

The blonde boy pouted but went to change.

"Naruto, I'm going to be back in 15 minutes. Stay in the bathroom till then."

"Where are you going?"

"To buy some things I need to get the smell out. Don't go anywhere until I come back, alright?"

"Okay."

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><p><strong>15 Minutes Later<strong>

Itachi knocked on the bathroom door. Naruto opened it and saw Itachi. He ran to hug him but stopped when he remembered about his stinky problem. The Uchiha put the bag on the counter top and then picked up Naruto and put him next to it.

"What's in here?'

"I bought some things that will get the smell out."

Itachi took out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, dish washing detergent, and a yellow sponge. He started by mixing the three equally in a large wooden bowl he found in the kitchen.

Naruto watched curiously. The Uchiha used the sponge to cover Naruto's body in the mixture. He was careful to keep it out of the boy's eyes and ears.

"Now we let it sit for 10 minutes. Then we repeat the process 3-4 times."

"How do you know it'll work, daddy?"

Itachi chuckled. "My best friend got sprayed once when he decided to scare a skunk. He showered but it only made the odor worse. This mixture effectively got the smell out."

"You're best friend? I bet he was really cool. What was his name?"

"Shisui, his name was Shisui. Actually, he was a lot like you."

"Shu-shish," Naruto struggled to get the name right. His face lit up when he got an idea, "I know, I'll call him Uncle Shu-shu! Yeah, Uncle Shu-shu."

Itachi's body shook with laughter. He could practically imagine Shisui's expression if he could have heard Naruto call him that. Said boy stared laughing watching Itachi laugh.

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><p><strong>30 Minutes Later<strong>

Naruto grinned. He was in a clean pair of black pants, purple shirt, and no longer smelling of skunk odor!

Itachi was drying his hands when he heard Naruto's surprised cry and then jumping into bed. He bolted into the room his eyes searching only for a spiky blonde head. Itachi spotted a bump under the comforter. He came and sat on his knees next to the bed.

"Naruto, what is it?"

Said boy poked his head out a little and whispered something. Itachi looked confused since he didn't understand what Naruto said.

"What?"

The chibi jinchūriki sat up and looked over Itachi's shoulder. His eyes widened before he jumped onto Itachi's bed. The Uchiha looked behind him and got a little surprise in the form of a black "cat" with a white stripe…pounced on its front paws.

"You have got to be kidding me."

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><p>Itachi was sitting on the toilet seat with nothing but a towel around his waist. Naruto was using a sponge to clean his sulky daddy's shoulder. After he'd been sprayed, the dark-haired shinobi had thrown the skunk into the empty room across the hall and locked the door.<p>

Apparently the foul beast had sprayed many of the rooms in the base before coming to Itachi and Naruto's room. Hidan had graciously offered to sacrifice the skunk but not before cracking jokes at Itachi's expense.

Sasori, much to the surprise of the Akatsuki members minus his partner, looked like a teenager. He seemed 30 years younger than he should have. Because of the skunk the entire base smelled like a dump site. Luckily for the Akatsuki, the Puppeteer was able to convert to gas the mixture Itachi used to get rid of skunk odor. So they didn't have to camp outside in the rain. They knew Pain wouldn't stop the rain because he wanted to see them suffer.

The Uchiha had insisted that he was more than capable of cleaning himself but the chibi blonde wanted to play daddy. Itachi had agreed only because he didn't want Naruto, knowing his luck, to accidentally end up watching Hidan kill the beast.

Which lead to the current situation with Naruto enjoying playing daddy with Itachi sulking quietly, "Stupid skunk…"

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><p><strong>Nighttime<strong>

Itachi looked over at Naruto's bed. The blonde boy was sleeping with his mouth open. The Uchiha chuckled and looked up at the ceiling. _Naruto's like a miniature sun spreading light and joy in the lives of people around him._ Itachi sighed sadly. _I wish I'd met him sooner, when he was younger. I should have done something. I knew he was Aunt Kushina's son I should have..._

The Uchiha shook his head. _No use crying over spilled milk. I want to send Naruto back to Konoha and away from here...but maybe I should wait for another week. I can't make up for all the ones I've missed, but I _could_ make at least this one a happy one...Yeah, I'll find a way to send Naruto back a few days after October 10._

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><p><strong>Next Update:<strong> Next month...Probably...Maybe...Chocolate Milk...

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	13. Theories and Plans

**Chapter 13: Theories and Plans**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Naruto, Deidara, Sasori (or more specifically Hiruko), and Kakuzu get sprayed by a skunk. After Naruto gets cleaned up Itachi gets sprayed. Hidan sacrifices the skunk. Itachi plans to send Naruto back to Konoha a few days after October 10th.

**Important Note for Readers**: Tobi (a.k.a you-know-who-but-I-won't-spoil-it-for-others) his absence will be explained in later chapters.

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><p>3 days had passed since "The Skunk Incident" as dubbed by the Akatsuki. And so far there hadn't been any problems forby Naruto and the Akatsuki as well. Naruto practically clung to Itachi majority of the time. The two generally trained together, ate, played games, drew, talked, and Itachi read Naruto stories.

Today was the beginning of yet another blissful day…

Naruto skipped to the kitchen/dining room for breakfast. The rest of the Akatsuki members were already present and going on about their morning routine. The chibi blonde took a seat between Hidan and Deidara and across from Itachi.

"Guess what day it is tomorrow?"

The Jashinist snorted, "The day Deidara finally picks one sex as his own."

"No," Naruto shook his head. He looked confused, "I don't know what that means."

"The day Hidan learns how to speak properly, yeah," the blonde artist replied.

"Nope," Naruto stated smiling.

"Hey, I speak good. At least I don't add weird throat sounds or "yeah" at the end of my sentences," Hidan shot back.

"It's my birthday!" The chibi jinchūriki grinned. The two Akatsuki members finally looked at Naruto after ignoring him.

"…"

"I'm going to be 6 years old!"

Deidara and Hidan blankly stared at Naruto for 3 seconds before turning back to their breakfast.

The chibi blonde gazed forward at Itachi, "Daddy, can I have a party?'

"No," Itachi shook his head, "I am sure Leader Pain will be against it."

Naruto pouted but then got an idea. "I'll just go and get him to agree." He shot out of the kitchen.

"Wait, Naruto—" Itachi tried to stop him but he was already gone.

"Brat's got guts if he's just going to drop in on Pain uninvited," the former Iwa ninja munched on his toast.

"He hasn't got guts, he's just stupid," the Jashinist exclaimed after he stuffed his face with bacon.

"You would know about stupid, wouldn't you," Kakuzu rolled his eyes.

Sasori stared at nothing in particular. _It sure has gotten terribly boring. But…_He glimpsed at Naruto's previously occupied seat. _I suppose I can use the brat in order to entertain myself_. The red-haired ninja no longer moved around in Hiruko since all the Akatsuki members saw his real body during The Skunk Incident.

Sasori looked down and his hair covered his eyes as a smirk decorated his lips._ I have a few ideas I can use to relieve my boredom. _The Puppeteer broke out of his thoughts as his partner spoke up.

"I have an idea. _If_ the brat gets his party, how about we tire him out and send him to bed early. And then we can have _our_ party."

"Sounds good to me," Kisame nodded. He had been quiet up until now. The shark-man didn't want to invoke the wrath of the brat's crazy overprotective "daddy." _I was lucky Itachi only activated his Mangekyo Sharingan to scare me._ Kisame suppressed a shiver. Even though Itachi hadn't inflicted any physical injury he had used his genjutsu to make the former Mist ninja suffer psychologically.

Itachi shrugged in indifference.

"Makes no difference to me," Sasori declared.

"No, absolutely not. It's a useless waste of money," Kakuzu glared.

"Too bad old man, it's 5 against 1. We're having the party," Hidan smirked.

"Itachi and Sasori never agreed, dimwit," the cheapo pointed out.

"They never disagreed either, yeah," said Deidara.

"Besides, even without them it's still 3 against 1. Who's the dimwit now?" the Jashinist looked smugly at his partner.

Kakuzu took his fork and stabbed Hidan in the arm before storming out. Ignoring the profanities his partner was screaming behind him.

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><p>Naruto threw open the door and stepped in. Pain looked at him and Nagato mentally sighed. <em>I knew the peace wouldn't last long.<em> One second Naruto was standing in the door and the next sitting on Pain's lap.

Pain looked startled at the boy in his lap. _He's pretty fast_. The Deva Path narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy's blonde hair. _I wonder…_

"Uncle Carrot-Top, can I please have a party tomorrow? It's my birthday! Please Uncle Carrot-Top? Please?" Naruto begged with huge puppy dog eyes.

Pain's eyebrow twitched. "Forget it."

"Aw, c'mon Uncle Carrot-Top! Pretty please with ramen on top?"

"Alright, I allow it."

Naruto beamed and Pain added quickly, "But only on one condition."

"What condition?"

"You have to stop calling me Uncle Carrot-Top."

Naruto pouted but then got an idea. _I'll just call him Uncle Carrot-Head instead!_ "Okay," he agreed and jumped off Pain's lap. He rushed off to tell his daddy the good news. As Naruto headed towards the others, he saw Kakuzu walking angrily towards his room. The chibi wisely stayed out of the elder man's way. He kept going after it was safe to pass.

"He said yes~ He said yes~"

Naruto chanted as he skipped into the Dining room. Hidan, Deidara, and Kisame shared a look and grinned.

"Time to go plan for the party, yeah," the artist ninja left with the other two on his heels.

Sasori observed as Naruto climbed into Itachi's lap and went off about chocolate cake. The Uchiha had a look that stated he was merely tolerating the little boy's presence. The Puppeteer excused himself after two minutes leading Itachi to relax.

The redhead smirked as he walked to his room. _He's good. But after lying and pretending for all these years, it's only to be expected. Uchiha's thinks he's got everyone fooled. Although I have to admit he has, everyone but _me _that is._ Sasori entered his room and closed.

"No, he's not good, he's better than good," the Puppeteer lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He never slept but he didn't mind the piece of furniture.

_I am a Puppeteer and more importantly, a Spy Master. Knowing the human body in more ways than one such as when I am being lied to is quite imperative._ Sasori thought.

"Unlike that pathetic excuse of a spy, Jiraiya," the redhead rolled his eyes, "I am a _real_ Spy Master. It's my nature to know everything that goes on."

He smirked as he sat up and picked up a book. _Now that Pain has approved, I can give it to the brat, in the form of a gift. _Sasori narrowed his eyes. _I will have to make sure he has it with him when he's back to his real age, which should be a few days from now. It's too bad that the Pool of Life will only make the pure of heart young. _

Sasori's thoughts turned to Pain. _Our "God" doesn't really know everything, now does he?_

* * *

><p>The blonde boy was currently taking his afternoon nap while the rest of the members were in the living room. Konan was speaking for Pain.<p>

"As you have heard, Pain has agreed to the party. We have to keep Naruto from suspecting. Which means _everyone_," Konan stressed the word "everyone" and glanced at Kakuzu, "has to give him a decent gift."

Kakuzu muttered something unintelligent under his breath. Hidan opened his mouth to say something but then stopped. He grinned wickedly, "I know just what to get."

The blue-haired woman narrowed her eyes, "It had better not be anything related to death or blood."

Hidan shot her an angelic look, "I would never."

"I also have an idea about what I'm going to give him," said Kisame. _I would like to give him a royal beating but…_His thoughts wandered over to his partner and then Konan. But he couldn't ignore the order from their boss man.

Sasori nodded, "So do I."

"My gift is going to outclass all of yours, un," Deidara grinned.

"Alright then," Konan dismissed them. And they went back to whatever it is they were doing.

Itachi walked back to his room and saw Naruto asleep on his bed. He sat down and cupped the little boy's cheek.

"Hmm," Naruto clasped his daddy's hand in sleep and smiled. The picture made Itachi's eyes soften and he smiled. He used his other hand to stroke Naruto's hair. The Uchiha just sat there. He wanted to remember this forever. _You sure know how to make your way into people's hearts, Naruto. _

_Just a few more days…we have just a few more days together. And then I'll send you back to Konoha_. Itachi felt his heart thump painfully._ Maybe I should wait a week more-No! What am I thinking? I can't let my emotions get in the way! The longer Naruto stays the higher the risk gets that something will happen. Something bad._ But...he didn't want Naruto to leave him. The chibi had become a part of Itachi's life.

_If my life was bleak before, I wonder what it will be like without Naruto_. Itachi chuckled dryly. _I should get up_. Itachi just sat there. His body wouldn't listen to his mind. It listened to his heart instead.

The dark-haired man just wanted to sit there and stoke the little boy's hair. How such a trivial gesture brought him so much peace was beyond the Uchiha. _I really should stop spending so much time with him. It'll be much harder to let go when the time comes. _

No matter how much he tried to reason with himself Itachi just couldn't. He couldn't bear the thought of losing anymore of the little time he had with the boy. The Uchiha swallowed the lump in his throat. _No! I refuse to waste time worrying about what's to come. I'll make the best of the next few days. These precious memories will give me the strength to live…until I finish my mission._

Itachi finally forced himself to let go of Naruto and get up. _I have about 40 minutes before he wakes up, might as well make use of it_. Itachi grabbed a jacket and placed a kiss on Naruto's head out of habit before heading out.

* * *

><p><strong>Hidden Rain Village: Marketplace <strong>

Itachi walked around aimlessly. _I must be the only one—well with the exception of Kakuzu—who doesn't know what to get Naruto. _While wandering around, something in the store window caught his eye. Itachi went inside.

The moment he picked it up, he knew he had to get it. The Uchiha bought the gift and headed back to the base.

* * *

><p><strong>Hidden Leaf Village <strong>

Hinata, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi had come back in the village after a successful mission. Sakura and Kakashi were talking with Tsunade while Hinata was waiting outside the building with Sai.

"You know, it's only the fourth time Sakura has gone on a mission," the Hyūga heiress said in her shy quiet voice.

"Why? Is Sakura really that bad of kunoichi?" Sai replied.

"W-what? No, you see, Sakura is the apprentice of the Hokage and works majority of the time in the hospital. Naruto, as you know, it off training with Jiraiya. And Sasuke…well, I'm sure you know about him."

Sai nodded in understanding. "Go on."

"Right, so she only went on four missions along with Kakashi-sensei to see if the replacement chosen for Sasuke could stay."

"I see. I wonder if I will be replacing Sasuke."

"No, you could never replace Sasuke."

Sai and Hinata turned around to see a glaring Sakura with Kakashi next to her.

"Why, did I do something wrong?"

The pink-haired kunoichi's glared was now exchanged for a smile. This time Kakashi spoke up. "Sasuke will never be replaced. That's why; you won't be taking his place."

Kakashi smiled his one eye smile, "You'll be another member of Team 7, not Sasuke's replacement."

"Welcome to the team," Sakura grinned.

"Congratulations," Hinata smiled.

"Thank you," Sai smiled. It was far from genuine, yet, was not fake either.

* * *

><p><em>W-what? Where am I? Oh, yeah. Stupid berries…<em>Jiraiya groaned internally and passed out.

The herbalist observed the perverted Sannin. _He should be back in good health in a day or two. And then he can go back to his apprentice, who, should be back to his real age by then._

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><p><strong>October 10th Hidden Rain Village: Akatsuki Base<strong>

Itachi had entered the room quietly and hid the gift in the closet the previous day. He then used a genjutsu to make sure no one, say a certain chibi jinchūriki, found it.

"Naruto, it's time to wake up," the Uchiha gently shook the kid's shoulder.

"I don't want to," replied the sleepy boy. He was too warm and comfy and content and…

Itachi sighed dramatically, "Here I thought you would be excited about your birthday." Itachi turned his back to the bed and started slowly walking towards the door. "I wonder who I could give his gift to."

Naruto's eyes immediately shot open and not a trace of his blissful sleepiness was visible. He jumped out of bed and latched onto his daddy's back.

"I'm up! I'm up! You don't to give my present to anyone."

Itachi chuckled. "Now that you're awake, why don't you get cleaned up and come downstairs for breakfast."

* * *

><p>Pain leaned against the window and looked at the village. His thoughts were on a certain little blonde boy. Konan knocked before entering. Even after so many years, her heart still felt a little pang seeing the Deva Path.<p>

"What are you thinking about, Nagato?"

"Naruto," the orange-haired man answered without looking at her.

Konan raised an eyebrow, "What about him?"

There was silence for a few moments. Pain looked at his partner, "I believe we should train him and have him join our ranks."

The blue-haired woman was surprised, "What do you mean? We only have the 1 tail and 8 tails left to find. After that, it's the boy's turn. There is no way he would survive the extraction."

"That is correct. But, I was thinking in case he did survive, it would be valuable to have someone young who may be the future of this organization."

Konan was startled to say the least. "I don't understand."

Pain straightened up and looked Konan in the eye. "We won't we around forever. In case something happens to one of us, we should have a back-up plan."

"But why Naruto?" asked the blue-haired woman.

"Because I have reason to believe he is the legacy of Konoha's Fourth Hokage."

Today was just full of surprises. Or, at least for Konan it was. "How is that possible? If it's true, why does no one know about it?" The answers can to her immediately. _Of course no one knows about it, the boy's father is dead and since he grew up by himself, so is his mother._

"If Kumo or Iwa ever got wind of it…" Konan thought out loud.

"Exactly, even if they did find out, they would never think it was true seeing the way the boy grew up. It was all done for his protection. Compared to other jinchūriki he grew up a sheltered life."

Pain gazed out the window again. "Having the son of their Hokage in the Akatsuki would be the ultimate slap in Konoha's face. If we train him, he will grow up to be very strong and useful to us."

Silence filled the room. Konan thought for a few minutes. "I think it is a good plan. But there are quite a few holes in it. One, how do you know he is the son of the Fourth Hokage? Two, what if he does not survive the extraction? The third problem is the so called Madara Uchiha. Remember when he came to us all those years ago, Yahiko never trusted him and frankly, nor do I. I never did and never will."

"I also do not trust him. That is one of the reasons we need to train Naruto. As for your second question, we'll see about that in a few years. If we think he is not ready, we won't extract the Kyūbi. Why do that if we can convince Naruto to join us and he is willing to do what we say?"

Konan nodded.

"As for how I know Naruto's heritage, I have a few reasons. You know how a jinchūriki is chosen, correct?"

"It is someone who is related to the Kage in order to ensure loyalty. But that doesn't automatically mean Naruto is related to Minato Namikaze. After all, he was an orphan himself."

"That is true. But, did you know when a female jinchūriki gives birth; the child will have a physical mark which relates to the tailed beast sealed inside the mother?"

"The whiskers," Konan narrowed her eyes.

"The former Kazekage had the Shukaku sealed in him when he was just a fetus. Technically the Shukaku was also inside of the mother. That is why the Kazekage has those dark rings around his eyes."

"So you think Minato Namikaze secretly married a woman or was seeing someone and Naruto is the product of that relationship," Amegakure's angel summarized.

She continued. "If your theory is correct, that means Naruto's mother, most likely an Uzumaki considering his last name, was the previous Kyūbi jinchūriki. Therefore the 9 tails attacking 14 years back was no accident. Naruto should be 14 now, that day the seal must have weakened during child birth. It all fits."

"I take it you agree?" asked Pain.

"Yes," the blue-haired woman paused. "I think we may have another problem."

"What?"

"Itachi," Konan replied. Pain raised an eyebrow.

"I've been observing him, making sure the jinchūriki was properly looked after."

"What did you find?" Pain questioned.

"He's more than looked after." Konan explained Itachi's behavior during Naruto's kidnapping and when Kisame had threatened Naruto.

The man—no, the boy—who murdered his own family in cold blood acting so…caring and protective, that definitely got Nagato's attention.

"Itachi seems to want to keep Naruto sheltered from the world. He does everything he can to make the boy happy. Itachi seems to be growing fonder of Naruto day by day."

Pain nodded in understanding. "He will be opposed to Naruto joining our ranks."

"What are we going to do about him?"

The Deva Path had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Nothing, we do absolutely nothing. What _can_ he d to us? The only thing Itachi has is power, but so do we. I'm sure Deidara and Hidan would be more than glad to take care of him if he becomes an obstacle. Worst comes to worst, I'll end it myself."

Konan nodded. "If Itachi really cares for Naruto, it would be better he not oppose us. Would he really rather the boy suffers the three day process of extraction?"

"It's decided then. Naruto will be trained to become the Akatsuki's weapon. If he succeeds, he will be the organization's legacy. If he fails completely, we'll extract the Kyūbi."

* * *

><p>Will Naruto become the Akatsuki's weapon? Will Itachi let it happen? Will Itachi die if he opposes Nagato? (Probably) And what is Sasori planning? Will Naruto have chocolate cake for his 6th birthday? Will Naruto ever stop calling Pain Uncle Carrot-Top ? ( Yeah, right!) *Snickers* Whose gift will be the best? Find out next time!<p>

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><p><strong>Next Update:<strong> "Naruto's Birthday Bash" Around 2-3 weeks maybe…

_**Please Review~**_

_**The more reviews I get the faster I update~**_


	14. Naruto's Birthday Bash

**Chapter 14: Naruto's Birthday Bash!**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Pain agrees to let Naruto have a party and everyone has to give him a present. Sai is accepted into Team Kakashi. Jiraiya will be back in good health in 2-3 days. Pain and Konan conclude Naruto to be Minato's son, and that Itachi's growing too fond of him. Itachi, Sasori, and, Pain and Konan all have plans for Naruto.

**Thank you for all the reviews everyone! **

* * *

><p><strong>Augustflower:<strong> Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! They help a lot. As for your request, I'm sorry I can't for 2 major reasons:

**a)** I have a story on hiatus that I really need to work on. And 2 others that are long in need of an update. **b)** One of the things I hate most about FF is stories where the Akatsuki turn into animals/kids or whatever, end up in our world, and are found by some teenage girl(s). Or something of the sorts.

I hope you understand. Thanks again for taking the time to R&R my story. I really appreciate it!

* * *

><p><strong>October 10th Akatsuki Base: Morning <strong>

Naruto came skipping down to breakfast. As usual, Deidara, Hidan, Itachi, Kisame, Kakuzu, and Sasori were already present. The chibi jinchūriki sat next to Itachi and helped himself to some waffles because he didn't like pancakes.

"So, what gifts did you guys get me?" Naruto gazed at Deidara.

"I am not telling," Deidara didn't even look up from his plate.

"You have to wait till later to find out," Sasori rolled his eyes.

"Aw, can't I get a little peak?"

"Forget it," Hidan scoffed.

Naruto turned on his pleading puppy dog eyes and Itachi wisely stood up to put his plate away. He turned to Kakuzu who didn't spare him a glance. Finally, Naruto attempted to ensnare Kisame.

"You wish," the former Mist ninja replied smugly.

Kisame had seen Itachi fall prey to that look and grew immune to it. Unfortunately the same could not be said for his partner; the man was a sucker for the puppy dog eyes not mention the wide teary eyed look. Besides, he only merely tolerated the kid out of fear—erm _respect_—of his partner and their leaders. Naruto pouted and took a big bite out of his waffles. Kakuzu sighed and stood up to leave.

"Brat," clearly he still wasn't over having to "waste" money on the party.

The blonde boy swallowed before answering, his daddy had told him it was impolite to talk while eating.

"I'm not a brat! I'm a full six years old now!" Naruto puffed his cheeks which succeed only in making him look more like the cute little chibi that he was.

* * *

><p><strong>Itachi and Naruto's Room<strong>

Naruto sighed as he spaced out again. He had spent most of the morning imaging the kind of gifts he would be receiving. _I hope Hidan gets me something like that 3-bladed stick he carries. But in black and orange!_

He moved his crayons and drawings out of the way before flopping on his stomach. _Maybe Deidara will give me one of his bird thingies! It would be so cool to fly around everywhere!_ Naruto sighed contently. _Wonder what I'll get from sharky. A fish maybe? _He sighed in disappointment.

"Is something wrong, Naruto?" Itachi asked when Naruto sighed once again.

"Nah," the jinchūriki shrugged his shoulders in a flippant manner.

For a moment there, without the cheerful smile on his face, the Uchiha swore Naruto looked and behaved somewhat like a teenager. It bothered him a little. A reminder his days with Naruto were numbered. He quickly shook his head clear of those thoughts.

"Since you don't seem to have anything to do, would you please give this scroll to Pain for me?" Itachi held out the scroll towards Naruto.

"Sure," the birthday boy grinned as he jumped off his bed.

"Thank you."

"Morning Uncle Carrot-Head!"

Pain resisted the urge to groan. He was having a very stressful day, he had a lot of work to do and why the hell couldn't the brat take a damn hint and stop calling him—_wait, Uncle Carrot-Head?_

Naruto, having noticed the Leader's reaction, went on to explain. "You said I couldn't call you "Uncle Carrot-Top" so I figured I should call you Uncle Carrot-Head instead!"

_Great, I got the brat to stop calling me by an embarrassing name only to have him come up with an even more embarrassing one. What kind of other shameful names will he come up with if I stop him from calling me "Uncle Carrot-Head?" Maybe it's best if I let him call me "Uncle Carrot-Top." It's less ridiculous._ "Brat, I change my mind, you can call me Uncle Carrot-Top but not in front of others!"

The chibi beamed, "Okay!"

Pain paused for a moment before saying quickly, "Consider it my birthday present."

"…"

"You didn't buy me a present, did you?"

No answer.

"Cheapskate."

Nagato blushed. It wasn't that he was cheap! It's just he didn't know what to get. Besides he didn't have time. He was busy _running_ a damn _village_ and an _S-rank criminal organization_.

"I'm letting you live aren't I?"

"Fine, fine, no need to get like that," the chibi grinned. "_Uncle Carrot-Top_."

"_Good_ then, so what do you want?"

"I have a scroll from daddy."

The Deva Path took the item and went back to work. Naruto was still there, smiling.

"You can leave now."

"Aw, but don't you want to play?"

"No, now get lost." Pain replied with a blank face while internally strangling Naruto.

"C'mon, let's play hide-and-seek."

The elder man's eyebrow twitched. "No, go play with someone else."

"Nobody else wants to play with me. And I don't want to play with daddy because he keeps winning."

"I don't—" Pain paused. _Wait, does that mean _Itachi's_ played _Hide-and-Seek_ with the _brat. He narrowed his eyes as his last conversation with Konan came to mind. Naruto was about to speak when the Deva Path interrupted him.

"Go away. I have work to do."

"But—"

"Go. Now. Or I call Orochimaru."

Naruto was out the door before Pain could say Rinnegan. _Hm, note to self: Use Orochimaru as a means of getting rid of annoying brats_. Thought Nagato.

"What do I do now?" grumbled Naruto as he walked back to his room. He saw the door to a room open, and having nothing better to do, he poked his head in.

Hidan was sitting on his bed, waxing his scythe, his baby. Normally, the chibi jinchūriki would steer clear of the Jashinist, but, well, boredom does that to you.

"What do you want?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm bored. Do you want to play with me?"

"I have better things to do than babysit an annoying brat." Hidan sneered.

"Fine," the bond boy sighed.

A minute later. "Soooo, what'd you get me? Is it here? Is it cool? Can I see it?"

The Jashinist waved his hand in a dismissive manner. Naruto pouted. He came closer to the bed. Hidan ignored him. And closer. Hidan still ignored him.

Poke.

Hidan's eyebrow twitched.

Poke. Poke.

Hidan's hands shook.

Poke. Poke. Poke.

Hidan grabbed his scythe. "That's it!"

"AHHHHEEEEEE!" Naruto squealed and ran out of the room. Soon his wailing turned into giggles. He looked to see if Hidan was still following him. He wasn't.

"Aw, where'd he go?"

The birthday boy silently went back to the Jashinist's room and sneaked a peek. The man was back to sitting on his bed. He turned around and started to chase Naruto again.

"I'm going to murder you kid!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed in terror and delight. He turned around. Hidan had disappeared again. So the chibi tried sneaking into his room again.

"Where is he?" The room was empty.

"Ahem," someone said behind him. Naruto turned around and smiled sheepishly, "Heh, heh."

Hidan threw Naruto out of his room and slammed the room. The blonde boy got up, "Owie."

Naruto sighed as he continued walking down the hallway. _Hm, what to do, what to do._ He saw a door. _I wonder what's in here_. And he went in. Deidara was sitting in the middle of the room with his back turned.

"Hi! What're you doing?"

He tried to look over the artist's shoulder but Deidara shifted to the left and blocked his view. Naruto moved and tried to see "it" only to have Deidara shift again. The chibi gave up and decided to look around the room.

"What's this?"

One second Naruto was inside the room looking at a sculpture. The next he was outside the room looking at a closed door.

Naruto continued walking down the hall. _I should just go back to my room. At least daddy won't kick me out._ Unfortunately, his curiosity got the best of him. And he went into another room. This one belonged to the one and only Puppet Master, Sasori.

Naruto wandered over to the redhead and plopped down next to him. He picked up—what appeared to be—a hand with an Akatsuki ring on it. Sasori wordlessly took it from him. The chibi pouted.

_At least Sasori hasn't thrown me out of his room. Yet._ His thoughts turned to the hand. It had felt real, but also different from a normal hand. It was totally gross and cool at the same time.

The six year old studied the room he was in. His eyes spotted Hiruko in the corner of the room. Naruto got up and looked at the huge scorpion like puppet. Seeing that Sasori was absorbed in whatever it was that he was doing, Naruto tried to be as silent as he could. He was about to step inside the puppet when a voice interrupted him.

"Don't. Even think about it."

The chibi sighed and retracted his foot. Then he suddenly jumped in. The bottom of Hiruko was rather comfy. Naruto looked around the puppet delightedly. A shadow fell on him and he looked up to see a redhead with his arms crossed. The chibi smiled innocently.

"What? I didn't think about it. I just jumped."

Sasori pointed to the door. Naruto got out of Hiruko and shot the Puppeteer a puppy dog look without success. The chibi bowed his head as Sasori made him do The Walk of Shame out of his room.

_I'm really starting to hate hallways_. Naruto thought grumpily. He had had it. The chibi was tired of getting kicked out of rooms. _I'm so tired_. Naruto yawned. _I want an afternoon nappy!_

Naruto went into his room and saw Itachi still sitting at the desk. He went over and crawled into his lap and hugged him.

"Naruto," Itachi did not sound happy. Said boy looked up with teary eyes, startling Itachi.

"You're not going to kick me out of the room too, are you daddy?"

"No," the Uchiha shook his head. Naruto smiled and snuggled in.

"On the contrary, I'm going to make sure you don't leave the room until later today."

"What?" Naruto's head snapped up.

"Pain called me into his office and told me you've been pestering the other members."

"I wasn't pestering them. I just wanted to play," Naruto said dejectedly. Some birthday this was turning out to be.

Itachi sighed, "It doesn't matter you still aren't allowed to leave the room."

The chibi huffed, "Well, I don't want to leave either. I just want a nap."

Itachi waited for Naruto to go to bed. He didn't. Instead, the blonde boy decided to nap on Itachi's lap. He opened his mouth to say something but the little boy's arms tightened around him. The Uchiha figured there was no use fighting a lost battle.

* * *

><p><strong>October 10th Akatsuki Base: Evening <strong>

Naruto yawned as he sat up in his bed and stretched. "Hmm," he looked around the empty room. The clock read 5:04. He grinned; he could leave the room now. The chibi was on his way when he heard voices coming from the dining room.

"Maybe you should have continued, seeing that we still have room to breathe." That was his daddy's voice.

"We don't need your sarcasm, Uchiha." Sasori.

Crash!

"This is ridiculous." A grouchy voice, Kakuzu, most likely.

"Go to hell, heathen!"

"If it means not having to see your butt-ugly face, then yes, I think I will, yeah!"

"Five bucks they're secretly married and this is just a lover's quarrel."

"DROP DEAD KISAME!" Hidan and Deidara screamed.

An irritated Itachi. A bored Sasori. An amused Kisame. A grouchy Kakuzu. Hidan and Deidara strangling each other. And balloons. Dozens of colorful balloons. And streamers. Stuck in the members' hairs. And arms. And bodies. And everywhere.

That was the scene in front of Naruto. It looked like a rainbow threw up balloons and streamers in the Kitchen/Dining Room. The Akatsuki members kept arguing until they heard giggling. They turned to see Naruto's giggling turn into full blown laughter.

"At least the birthday boy's getting a kick out of this," Sasori rolled his eyes.

"You all," giggle, "look, "giggle, "so silly!"

"I'm afraid to ask, but what happened here?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder to see the Akatsuki's sole female member standing behind him. There was no answer. Then:

"**It's Deidara's/Hidan's fault!**"

"**My fault?**"

"**Your fault!**"

"**Stop saying what I'm saying!**"

"**AHHHH!**"

The two became silent at the same time as well. Konan sighed and looked at Sasori. "Explain."

"Hidan and Deidara got into a contest about who could blow the most balloons in the least amount of time. Kakuzu wanted to save money by conserving the streamers. Kisame tried to take them from him and all the streamers ended up blowing all over the place."

"And you and Itachi did nothing I assume," the blue-haired woman said dryly.

"Pretty much, yeah," Sasori shrugged.

"So where's the cake?" Naruto, the only person who was excited about the entire mess the place was in. Sasori disappeared somewhere. And he came back, he was reeling a huge chocolate cake in front of him.

"WOW! It's huge!"

Naruto's jaw, along with all the other members' jaw, dropped at the sight of the 5 feet high and 3 feet wide round chocolate dessert decorated with orange candles. There was a white "6" candle in the middle at the very top. Everyone crowed around it as soon as the Puppeteer had brought it in.

"Hold on, where are the matches? We still have to light the candles." From the way they were eying the cake, Konan knew they wouldn't wait long to dig in. Frankly, she couldn't either…

"I'll go get them," Itachi volunteered. He didn't want anyone to go because knowing the morons he was surrounded with, the Uchiha wouldn't be surprised if they got a flamethrower instead.

Deidara created a little clay butterfly to put on the cake. When Hidan tore his gaze from the cake, he saw the insect, he thought it was meant for him, and attempted to swat it. Seeing Hidan raising his hand readying to hit, Deidara acted according to his instincts.

Itachi came back in time to see Hidan swat a butterfly into the cake and Deidara scream, "Katsu!"

BOOM! SPAT! POP! SPAT! SPAT! POP! POP! SPAT! SPLAT! SPAT POP! POP! POP!

The room, along with its inhabitants, was covered in chocolate, streamers, and popped balloons. Everyone's eyes simultaneously turned to the birthday boy. Naruto was looking around the huge mess with wide eyes.

The chibi's fell head and his shoulder started to shake. The room's occupants readied themselves for an hour or two of crying from the blonde boy. Itachi felt his insides twist uncomfortably. He was about to go hold the poor boy when he heard it.

"Hee, hee hee," Naruto looked up, trying his hardest to control himself but he just couldn't. "Bwhahahahhahhahahhha! We look so silly." He broke into another fit of laughter. Everyone relaxed.

Naruto stared at Itachi's head, "Daddy look at your head!"

There was a huge piece of chocolate cake sitting on the Uchiha's head. Everyone but Itachi, Sasori, and Konan was laughing now. It was that moment Zetsu came in. Unfortunately, he stepped onto the icing and slipped.

Thwack!

This time _everyone_ was laughing at the now unconscious Zetsu. Unknown to them, Nagato had been watching the entire time and was also having a good laugh from the chaos.

* * *

><p><strong>3 Hours Later<strong>

The Kitchen/Dining Room was finally clean. And so were all the others.

"Presents, yeah!" Naruto said super thrilled.

Konan had made them clean up the mess before moving on. She didn't want to take any chances of having the place getting infested with insects like roaches and ants.

First up was Kakuzu.

"Ramen coupons!" The chibi took them enthusiastically, "And I can use them anywhere I want!"

Everyone looked at Kakuzu in surprise. It sounded kind of pricey. Not mention fishy. _He probably stole them_. They all thought. They were right of course. But Kakuzu knew they wouldn't call him on it.

Second was Hidan.

"Here ya go kid. I'm sure you'll _enjoy_ it," the Jashinist smiled big. Itachi was immediately on guard.

Naruto opened the gift excitedly. And took out…

"You got him 2 porn books," Itachi looked distastefully at the things.

"What?" Hidan asked innocently. "I would have gotten him 3 but the old perverted toad hasn't finished the third one yet."

"What's porn?" Naruto asked curiously.

"…"

Crickets chirping.

"Let's open another present." Itachi suggested. The chibi had no problems with that.

Third was Zetsu, who had woken up some time ago.

"Cool," Naruto looked at the pocket watch. "I feel all fancy."

"Sweet," the chibi observed the dagger he got from black Zetsu.

Sasori went fourth.

"A book on how to be a spy! This is so awesome! After I finish this, I can learn ways to find out people's secret and blackmail them. Thanks, Sasori." Naruto was practically jumping up and down.

The redhead smirked as he got glares from some of the others. _If only you knew the real purpose of the book._

Kisame was the fifth one.

"Whoa," Naruto looked at the fishing rod in his hands with awe. "We have to go fishing." He declared.

Konan was sixth.

Naruto's eyes almost popped open when he saw it. A sword. It was...nice. Not plain or _so_ beautiful that he _didn_'t want to use it. It was kind of heavy so the chibi had to hold it with both of his hands. The sword wasn't new but it wasn't completely old and used either. Experienced, that was the word you would use to describe it.

Unknown to Naruto and the others, it was Yahiko's old sword. Only Nagato knew this.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. You're amazed," Hidan rolled his eyes. "Now hurry up."

Itachi went seventh. Deidara had requested—demanded—to go last.

_Will he like it?_ Itachi took out a scroll. _Everyone else's gifts are so much better. What if he doesn't like mine? _The Uchiha tried to keep the panic out of his face. _Gah! What's wrong with me?! I wasn't even this nervous when I had to…protect the village from the clan_.

Naruto gasped when Itachi gave him his gift, "A teddy bear!" It was cute, average sized, and ivory in color. It had a baby blue and white striped bow. The bear was super soft . And fuzzy and warm too!

"There's nothing impressive about that," said the black Zetsu.

Naruto was not showing as much excitement he did when he got the sword or awe when he got the fishing rod. But it was crystal clear to everyone just how much he would treasure the bear over any other gifts because he seemed to have forgotten about them all other.

For a reason beyond his understanding, the bear was a symbol of everything he'd ever craved. This was strange because Naruto did not really know what he had always desired. Itachi almost fell over with relief when he realized how much Naruto already seemed to adore the bear.

"Finally, my turn. It's about time too." Deidara said eagerly.

* * *

><p><strong>Akatsuki Base: Roof<strong>

It wasn't raining.

"I asked boss-man to hold the rain for a while." Deidara looked even more thrilled than Naruto. "Check this out."

The artist ninja took out some clay and morphed it into three clay birds. As soon as he they were at a safe distance, Deidara yelled, "Katsu."

The clay birds exploded in a flurry of beautiful lights. And then even started changing colors! The former Iwa ninja took the time to create more birds and set them off.

"Ooh!" Naruto stared mesmerized.

This time they exploded into silly smiley faces and 3-D like objects.

The chibi's jaw dropped.

The fireworks went on for a few minutes. Deidara ignored the others the entire time. Focusing only on his art. He took set loose the last batch of his clay birds.

"Art is a bang! Katsu!"

There was one last huge explosion of beautiful lights before the show ended. Deidara smirked as Naruto kept talking about how awesome and cool it was. Soon the grey clouds above them starting brewing so the Akatsuki plus Naruto returned to their rooms. Everyone was too tired for another party and decided to call it a night.

* * *

><p><strong>20 Minutes Later: Itachi and Naruto's Room <strong>

Naruto was sitting on Itachi's bed staring at his new teddy bear. The Uchiha sat on his bed against the wall. He knew what Naruto would do. The chibi, naturally, crawled into Itachi's lap as soon as his daddy sat down.

"Have you picked a name for your bear yet?"

"No, I can't come up with a good one."

Itachi gave Naruto a comfortable smile. The biggest problem the kid had was he couldn't find a good enough name for his teddy bear. The entire reason he had picked it was because he wanted Naruto to keep that innocence as long as he could. Itachi knew all too well the evil the people in the world were capable of. He wanted to shield Naruto from that cruel and harsh reality for as long as he could. Something that no one had ever done for the kid.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll find a nice name for him."

The chibi gave his daddy a cute smile.

"Naruto, why do you like my gift best?" Itachi asked genuinely curious. "It isn't as cool as the sword you got from Konan or the firework show from Deidara."

Naruto smiled at the bear in a very loving and caring manner. "I don't know. It just feels right. As if I've always longed for it. Like it was something that if someone gave me would take way all the loneliness."

Itachi acted before thinking. He took off his necklace and showed it to Naruto. "This necklace was a birthday gift from my best friend."

"Uncle Shu-shu, right?"

The Uchiha chuckled. "Yes. Now, look at what happens when you hold it up to the light."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he tried to read the word in each little circle. "Hope, and that's hm, loyalty. And the last one is, um, per-persa-something."

"Perseverance," Itachi said for him. "Hope, loyalty, and perseverance. The three traits I believe in most. These are the traits that define you, Naruto."

He slipped the necklace around the chibi's neck. It made a little clink as it touched the necklace Tsunade gave him. Naruto beamed at Itachi and hugged him.

"I love you, daddy."

"Love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>Any ideas on a name for Naruto's new buddy? <strong>Heh, I only seem to come up with corny ones.

_**Shameless self-advertisement:**_ If you like this story, check out my other Naruto and Itachi story "Amnesia." Way less fluffy and more brother type relationship between the two later on.

_**Please Review~**_

_**Merry Christmas~**_


	15. Poking Around

**Chapter 15: Poking Around**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

**Previously: **Naruto pests the Akatsuki members. Itachi tells Naruto he has to stay in their room until evening. During the birthday party, the cake is destroyed. Konan makes everyone clean it up. Naruto gets presents. Itachi gives Naruto a Teddy Bear and his necklace.

**Thanks for the reviews**. And the name suggestions too. I liked **whisper101's** suggestion for the teddy bear's name best. But check out what I did with the rest of them!

* * *

><p>"Hm," Naruto stared at the teddy bear in his hands, "I wonder what I should call him."<p>

He glanced at the Uchiha. "Daddy, I can't come up with a good name. Can you help me?"

Itachi looked up from his book. "Sorry Naruto, I've never really had a teddy bear."

Well that wasn't a lie, but…

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Begins<strong>

"So, Itachi, did you have fun?" Mikoto asked. She had dropped him off with Kushina so she could take baby Sasuke to the doctor for a regular check up.

"Yes," the chibi grinned. "I had a lot of fun. And look what she gave me!"

Itachi held up an orange fox. "Isn't he cute?"

"What is that thing?"

The two turned around to see Fugaku. He had heard the conversation and wasn't happy. The Uchiha Clan Head hadn't forgotten the uproar the red-haired demon had caused when she had kidnapped—_babysat_—his son without informing anyone.

"Aunt Kushina—"

"Yes, I heard. But why do you still have it? And that woman is not your aunt."

"Fugaku, it's just a toy." Mikoto looked at her husband disapprovingly.

"You know the only reason we—"

"Itachi, why don't you go to your room so your father and I can talk?"

"Okay," the chibi turned to leave.

"And dispose of that ugl—fox," Fugaku tried to say it a little less strictly.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Ends<strong>

Itachi was still able to hear his parents' conversation. But he hadn't understood it until years later. As for the fox, Itachi had hidden it and lied about throwing it away. The toy was still in his room under the…

The Uchiha looked down in his lap as he felt a tiny pair of arms around him. Naruto's clingy actions no longer surprised him; in fact he rather welcomed them. Naruto seemed to need more physical affection such as hugs or hair ruffles than any other kid Itachi had known. Then again the only other kid he had really known was Sasuke.

"It's okay, daddy. We can share him." The chibi jinchūriki held up the bear.

The elder man chuckled. "It's alright, Naruto. I bought him especially for you."

"Okay," the chibi blonde nodded and smiled. "I'll go find Uncle Carrot-Top. Maybe he'll know an awesome name."

Itachi's eyebrow twitched at the cute little name for the leader of the world's evilest, and only, S-rank criminal organization.

Naruto's eyes widened, "Daddy, you have it!"

"Huh? What do I have?" Itachi asked surprised and confused.

"The disease!" The chibi said in horror.

The Uchiha stiffened. _How does Naruto know about my disease? Is it that obvious? If a child is able to figure it out, does that mean the others know about it as well?_ Despite the inner panic, he kept a calm expression on the outside. "What disease are you talking about?"

"The one where your eyebrow jumps up and down really fast! Uncle Carrot-Top has it too!"

"…"

Itachi's eyebrow twitched again.

"Oh my God, there it is," Naruto pointed above his daddy's right eye in terror. He then proceeded to poke it with his index finger. The left side of Itachi's lips twitched in amusement. It didn't last long because a certain panicking boy saw it.

"It's spreading!" Naruto wailed.

Watching his son act like a headless chicken made Itachi chuckle. As comical as it was, he figured he ought to calm the boy down before he got a heart attack.

"Naruto."

He was still freaking out. And poking his daddy's face.

"_Naruto_," Itachi grasped the chibi jinchūriki's arms.

"Relax, it's not a disease. It won't kill me."

"Then what is it?"

"It is," Itachi paused trying to find the best way to answer the question, "a quirk. I guess, you can say it's a habit that many people develop."

"You sure?" Naruto sniffed.

"Yes, I am positive," Itachi ruffled his blonde locks.

The chibi jinchūriki hugged the dark-haired man and whispered softly, "Daddy."

"Yeah?" Itachi hugged Naruto back.

"Don't die. Don't ever leave me." The grip of Naruto's arms tightened.

"I won't." He hoped the uneven beating of his heart wouldn't give him away.

"You promise?"

"I promise." The Uchiha swallowed.

He was grateful Naruto couldn't see his face. The guilty expression would definitely have given him away. Death. It was inevitable. Itachi could only prolong his life with medicine for so long. And how could he stay with Naruto knowing full well the danger it put the jinchūriki in.

* * *

><p>Naruto skipped down the hallway with his trustee bear and a dictionary in his hand. He hadn't been able to ask Pain since he wasn't in his office, but, oh well. <em>What name should I go with? <em>He came back to his room and saw Itachi still sitting there reading.

He looked up and smiled. "Have you figured out a name yet?"

Naruto, naturally, crawled into his lap and began. "I asked the others to help me and…"

"And what?"

**With Kakuzu**

_Hm, name for my bear. Oh, I should go ask the person in this room._ He went into a random room. A talk figure was hunched over a desk, punching little buttons on a machine.

"What do you want boy?" Kakuzu asked without looking up.

Naruto shuffled next to the elder man. He was going to ask Kakuzu about a name for his bear but…the machine caught his interest. Naturally, being the snoopy 6 year old he was, he proceeded to satisfy his curiosity. By poking it. Effectively ruining all the calculations.

"What. Do. You. Want?"

Kakuzu asked carefully, not wanting lose control of his temper. He didn't want to hurt the kid because Itachi was one of the more tolerable people in the Akatsuki.

"I can't come up with a good name for my bear. Do you know any good ones?" Naruto asked with a smile.

_Seriously? You've got to be kidding me. Itachi, that damn psychopathic mass murderer freak, couldn't he have gotten the brat a kunai or something? But no, he has to go on and get attached to a needy kid and waste money on him. _The miser brooded.

"Um, Mr. Kakuzu, have you come up with one yet?"

"Yes," he glared at the bear, "Sanity, because you're making me loose mine."

* * *

><p>Itachi chuckled, "He really said Sanity? I guess I'm not surprised. Who was next?"<p>

**With Kisame **

Naruto walked by the kitchen and saw something tall and blue in the corner of his eye. He went over to him.

"Hey, fis—Kisame, do you know a good name for a teddy bear?"

The shark-like man took one look at Naruto, then at the smiling stuffed animal, and shrugged. "Mr. Kuma-chan?"

Seeing the chibi's unsure expression he continued. "It's an awesome name. Though you won't know, you're still just a kid."

**Line Break**

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "I never imagined that's the name Kisame would come up with for a teddy bear. But then again the notion of Kisame and teddy bear is ridiculous by itself."

"It's okay name," Naruto said before moving onto the next person.

**With Deidara**

Deidara opened the door right as Naruto was about to.

"What do you want, yeah?"

"A cool name for my teddy bear!"

Deidara's eyebrow twitched. Naruto narrowed his eyes and was seriously starting to doubt Itachi. _Even though daddy said it was a quirk I'm really starting to think it's a disease._

"Eddy," the artist ninja shrugged. _He's my favorite character from that movie about—_

"Thanks," the chibi beamed.

* * *

><p>"Eddy. Of course he's pick that name." Itachi shook his head. "He's from that movie Deidara likes watching so much."<p>

"I guess he could be an 'Eddy.'" Naruto held up the bear. "Sasori's was okay too."

**With Sasori**

"Seriously?" The redhead looked at the small boy in a bored manner. He suddenly smirked. "How about Fuku? It means 'lucky.'"

_Because you're going to need all the luck you can get. _He smirked.

"I like it," the chibi jinchūriki grinned. "I wonder what other cool names I'll find."

Sasori raised eyebrow. "Have you been asking others the same thing?" Naruto nodded. The Puppeteer rolled his eyes.

"Grow up kid. Actually," He picked up a book, "here, use this to find a good name. Don't go around bothering anyone else."

_Honestly, acting so casual with the Akatsuki. The brat won't last long this way. And if he dies, who's going to amuse me then? _He smirked. "Now go away."

* * *

><p>Itachi scowled. "Sasori is definitely the strangest one between all of us."<p>

_The most cunning, I wonder what he's up to now. _Itachi thought to himself.

"That's everyone I asked," Naruto said hugging his father. It wasn't true. But he wasn't telling Itachi that. He had gone and…

* * *

><p><strong>With Hidan<strong>

"Don't care. Why don't you go back to that girly looking idiot you call daddy!" The Jashinist grinned maliciously. "Or should I say mommy?"

There were a lot of ways to get on Naruto's bad side. Number one: insulting his dad. No one does that and get away with it. _No one_. The blonde boy crossed his arms and schooled his expression into the mirror image of Itachi's you're-not-worth-my-time-so-get-lost look.

"Che, you just jealous because daddy's hair isn't white and falling like _yours_. Really, your hair's so disgusting I bet cats can cough up something better-looking."

There were many ways to piss off Hidan. Top three: insulting his religion, touching his scythe, or messing with his hair. Naruto grinned and fled as Hidan tried to untangle his body from his sheets so he could introduce the chibi jinchūriki to his scythe.

* * *

><p>Yeah, Itachi didn't need to know that. "So have you decided on a name yet?"<p>

"No, not really, but," Naruto held up the book he got from Sasori and gave it Itachi. "I have an idea. I don't know how to use this. Can you teach me, daddy?"

"Sure," the Uchiha smiled.

**10 Minutes Later**

Itachi watched as Naruto looked something up in the dictionary. "I got it!"

The chibi grinned and held up his bear. "I'm going to call him…Yahiko!"

Itachi looked surprised, "Why Yahiko?"

"Because," Naruto gave a cheeky grin, "everyone keeps calling me little boy and tell me to grow up. What do you think, daddy?"

"I think it's a great name." He smiled.

"Yes! I'm going to ask Uncle Carrot-Top what he thinks about it! But first I'm going to get a snack first."

Naruto got up and left. Itachi felt slightly apprehensive as he watched the chibi leave. _This is ridiculous. Why do I feel more uneasy with the idea of Naruto going to see Pain than anyone else? _He shook his head. _It's probably because he's the _Leader_ of the organization which is after people like Naruto. _

_Or_, an irritating voice in his head replied, _because Naruto really seems to adore and practically worship Pain. You're jealous._

Itachi scowled. _Jealous? I don't think so._

The snarky voice continued. _It bothers you that Naruto spends more time with you but seems to admire Pain almost as much as you._

_Almost_ _as much but not quite. _Itachi thought smugly.

Unfortunately the stupid voice didn't stop. _Didn't you not want to get close to him? What happened there? And what about Sasuke? He was so easily forgotten once Naruto showed up._

Itachi felt guilt seep into him as he was reminded of his dear little brother. _It doesn't matter, it's not about him._

_Oh, of course not. This is about you being jealous of the fact that Naruto seems to hold as much respect for Pain as you._ The voice taunted.

_It doesn't matter, he still loves me more._ Itachi thought childishly. He then froze and groaned. "How absurd, I'm arguing with myself."

The Uchiha was broken out of his self-pitting thoughts as he heard several people screaming and shouting.

"They're everywhere!"

"How did they get here yeah?"

"How the hell should _I_ know?"

One particularly high-pitched screamed caught his attention.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Itachi bolted from the room to the source of the noise.

* * *

><p>This chapter came out of nowhere. I just made it up from the reviews I got!<p>

_**Please Review~**_


	16. Camping Part I

**Chapter 16: Camping Part I**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. Just this plot.

**Previously**: Naruto goes around asking people's opinion for a name for his bear. He decides to name the bear Yahiko. Itachi argues with himself about being jealous over sharing Naruto's admiration with Pain. He hears several members, including Naruto, scream.

* * *

><p><em>That was Naruto, I'm sure of it. <em>

Itachi ran into the kitchen and swiftly came to a stop.

"What?"

The ground was moving. _No, it's not the ground but…Ants!_ The Uchiha watched as _hundreds_ of ants crawled across the floor of the kitchen. He looked around and saw Naruto (with Yahiko in hand), Deidara, Hidan, and Kisame standing on top of the dining table.

Itachi realized that it wasn't only the kitchen but the living room that was also crawling with the little black insects. He observed the place he was standing hadn't been over taken. Yet.

"Dad!"

The Uchiha looked over at the blonde boy, relieved he was uninjured, "What's going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

Sasori came up behind him. It still surprised Itachi when he saw the redhead, the too young looking Puppeteer. Without Hiruko, he was the perfect picture of laziness and boredom. Yet he managed to produce a more intimidating aura than before.

Itachi didn't like it. The way his attitude and the air around him changed around Naruto. The scarlet-haired man would look at Naruto like he was one of his puppets, something to control and amuse himself with. Maybe Sasori wanted to add the young jinchūriki to his collection. Maybe he wanted to get Naruto to let his guard and…

Itachi didn't know. And that was what really made him keep his guard up around the Puppeteer. He had no idea what the man was thinking. Sasori had always made him wary since the beginning. He was a Spy Master.

Speaking in terms of strength "Tobi" and Pain were the biggest obstacles. But Sasori was just below them in terms of who was the most dangerous. He knew things; people like him had ways of getting even the most guarded secrets. That was one of the reasons why Itachi tried to avoid him as much as possible. Catching his interest could lead to problems.

"Would anyone like to explain why there are ants everyone?" Konan had materialized.

Everyone looked at each other. Finally, it was Deidara who broke the silence.

"Remember when you asked us to clean up the cake mess?"

"Yes," the blue-haired woman narrowed her eyes.

Hidan spoke up, "We only just kind of cleaned up the surface. We threw the rest of the cake in the cupboard. And under the table and rug and stuff."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." Kisame shrugged.

Konan stared them all down with steady look. "You do realize nearly half the base has been infested with insects. It'll take them about 2 days and then the entire base will be taken over."

"What?!" Deidara asked flabbergasted.

Konan sighed, "We're going to have to do some damage control and call in the exterminators."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kisame asked, not liking the way the co-leader was speaking.

"It means, pack your things. You're all going to have to camp on the outskirts of the village for the next 3-4 days."

"What!?" Hidan asked angrily. "And stay outside in the rain?"

"There no helping it now. You should have thought of that before creating this mess," Konan folded her arms. "And get down from there. You all look ridiculous."

_Great_. Itachi thought dryly. Only one person seemed to be excited by the idea.

"Yay! Camping," Naruto grinned. He jumped off the table and landed near his daddy. He was followed by the other three.

"Yahiko and I are going to get our stuff!"

The other members were too busy in their thoughts to notice Konan stiffen at Naruto's words. _Y-yahiko? How would he—no. This is just a coincidence_. But just hearing his name out loud like that had brought an unexpected wave of memories.

"…and then what?"

"I don't care," she said coldly to them, not paying attention to who was talking and what he was talking about. "You have 2 hours to pack." She turned and left. With thoughts about the one and only man she ever loved, and still loved, running through her mind.

* * *

><p>Itachi came into the room and saw Naruto throwing his clothes onto his bed. The Uchiha grabbed an empty scroll and walked up to the energetic blonde.<p>

"Here, I'll show you how to use a scroll. Then you can pack your clothes. I'll put in the other essentials I think we'll need."

"Okay dad!"

So for the next hour or so, everyone was busy packing. All but the chibi jinchūriki seemed to be enjoying himself. Itachi felt more unhappy with this than any other member. Why? Simple, because it was time and he knew. He just _knew_ by the end of this camping trip, Naruto was no longer going to be with him.

_I still have 2 more days_. Itachi tried to comfort himself with this thought. But there was no denying it. This was a golden opportunity. Who knew when another chance like this would present itself? He had to act within the next few days or…

Itachi shook himself of those thoughts. He had 3 plans ready. They were all quite simple. But they all required a few things to happen. Jiraiya must be searching for Naruto, so all Itachi had to do was take Naruto away from the rest of the Akatsuki. He would then seal the chibi's memories and knock him out.

Then he could:

A) Have one of his summons take Naruto to Konoha. Then fake a scene of battle. It wouldn't be too hard with the help of his Exploding Shadow Clone jutsu. And make everyone believe Jiraiya had attacked and taken Naruto back.

B) Pretend Naruto got all of his memories back and reverse summoned himself to the toads' home. Since no one really knew much about the cause of Naruto's miraculous de-aging, Itachi couldn't be accused of lying.

C) Use genjutsu to create some sort of a situation (like making the hot-headed members go at each other throats and create a distraction) during which Itachi could find some traveling merchants and use genjutsu to make them take Naruto to Konoha.

Finding someone for the young boy to travel with wasn't going to be hard since Ame was in the middle of 3 of the Great Hidden Villages. Although the tricky part was keeping everyone under his illusion, if something were to go wrong…

Well, those were the plans Itachi had come up with by the time everyone was ready to leave. He'd try to make sure it doesn't have to come to Plan C

* * *

><p><strong>Outskirts of Hidden Rain Village: Afternoon <strong>

Itachi was carrying Naruto in his arms—underneath his cloak—as he and Kisame made their way towards the Akatsuki's campsite. It was decided the best course of action would be to go separately to avoid suspicion.

Only a handful of people in Ame knew about the village being the Akatsuki base. Most of all of them being members (if not low level ones) in the organization themselves.

"Naruto, if you squeeze any harder you're going to choke me to death," the Uchiha whispered so Kisame couldn't hear him.

"Sorry," Naruto's grip loosened and he smiled sheepishly. He was just too excited!

When the trio arrived, everyone was setting up their own tents. Itachi and Naruto would be the only ones sharing for obvious reasons. Within an hour and much arguing later, everything was done. All the tents were set up so they made a circle around the fire.

Itachi and Naruto had Sasori on their right and Kisame on their left. Across from the duo, Kakuzu had Hidan on his right and Deidara on his left. There were 7 logs around a yard away from the camp fire. Fortunately, they were far enough from Amegakure so it wasn't raining. But the weather was till grey and cloudy.

"Time for lunch!" Kisame said happily.

The Akatsuki members sat around the fire looking at each other expectantly. Itachi knew the answer to the question before he even asked it.

"Did anyone bring food?"

"…"

Itachi hated being right all the time.

"I brought stuff for smores," Deidara went inside his tent and emerged with a packet of marshmallows, gram cracker, and chocolate.

"That's all you brought," Kisame deadpanned.

"Of course not," the former Iwa-nin looked offended. "I remembered the last time I went camping outside of a mission. It was before I left Iwa, yeah. I learn from my mistakes, so I brought 5 times more than I did before."

"I think he meant is that the _only_ food you brought," Sasori rolled his eyes.

"It's more than what you brought," Deidara shot back.

"I don't need to eat so not my problem."

Itachi ignored the rest of their rambling and went inside his tent. He brought out some pre-made sandwiches he'd bought before leaving. He came back and was immediately jumped by Hidan and Deidara. The Uchiha looked at Sasori.

"Do you want one?"

Sasori didn't look away from the flames. "No."

Deidara smirked like he knew some secret. The Uchiha ignored it. He decided he didn't want to know. He sat down next to Naruto and handed him a turkey sandwich. Naruto hated ham. Apparently it tasted too "hammyish." Whatever that meant. Lunch was a nice and quiet.

* * *

><p><strong>After Lunch<strong>

"Don't bother me or I'll kill you," Kakuzu went into his tent.

"I'm out losers," Deidara flew off on his clay bird.

Sasori didn't both looking at any of them, "I'm going to be working on a new poison. If you decide you have a death wish today then please do come on in."

The former Mist-nin got up to leave, "I'm going to a bar, feel free to join me."

"I'll hold you up on that," Hidan got up to follow Kisame. "Lord Jashin needs a sacrifice."

Kisame paused. "Aren't you forbidden against harming the village people?"

The Jashinist opened his mouth but then shut it after shooting a glare at the Uchiha. "I'm sure we'll run into some dumb fuc—idiots."

Naruto and Itachi were now the only ones left. "Hey dad, let's go on a treasure hunt!"

Itachi opened his mouth to say something but stopped. _This is could be it. With only 2 members here at camp and the rest gone, I could take Naruto away and put my plan into action_. He looked at the excited little boy.

"C'mon dad, are you coming?"

The Uchiha followed him quietly. Naruto was too busy exploring to notice the elder man's private musings.

"Let's go over there," the young blonde looked behind and realized he had gotten a bit ahead. He ran back to Itachi and took his hand. Itachi finally snapped out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Jeez dad, stop daydreaming, we have a treasure hunt to finish."

"Yes, I suppose we do."

The Uchiha smiled as Naruto puffed his cheeks in annoyance. He was just too cute. _Wait, since when have I become "dad" not "daddy?"_ He sighed. _They_ _grow up so fast. _He paused_. I'm too young to be thinking that_. The chibi jinchūriki pulled Itachi's hand to get him moving again.

* * *

><p><strong>2 Hours Later<strong>

"Naruto, don't scratch it."

"But it itches!"

"Well, you should have listened to me when I told you which plants you should avoid. Then you wouldn't have ended up in a Poison Ivy patch."

"Aw, dad, you kept talking about so many of them I just kind of stopped listening," the chibi wailed and hugged Itachi tighter as the elder man carried him back to camp.

Itachi sighed. _I can't expect him to get them all at once. He's only a little kid_. Itachi hadn't realized till Naruto just said what he did but…he was becoming like his father.

Itachi liked his father but…he wasn't exactly the best example of how a father should be. And Naruto hadn't been raised during a time of war. Or the Uchiha clan's mentality on how a real ninja should act. He should take it easy on the kid.

"It's alright Naruto. I'll tell you again. And I promise not to make it boring so you won't forget all of it."

"Okay," the chibi resisted the urge to scratch his arms and legs.

The Uchiha knew he'd have to make up some over the top tale about some heroic ninja and his or her great adventure in defeating the dastardly plants. Like Poison Ivy. Itachi sighed; he wasn't exactly creative enough to pull that off_. It's a good thing being a recluse turned me into a bookworm. Got to pass time somehow…_

Itachi, always prepared, had brought some salve with him that didn't get rid of the ivy's effects but reduced them greatly. That along with the Kyūbi's healing; Naruto was probably going to be fine before dinner time.

On their way back, while the chibi took a nap, Itachi was lost in his thoughts. He had the perfect chance but couldn't bring himself to do it. The Uchiha was secretly glad Naruto had gone through the Poison Ivy patch. It gave him an excuse not to let the chibi go.

He had only delayed the inevitable. Sooner or later—probably sooner than later—Itachi was going to have to let go. And that day was coming up fast. _That day just might be tomorrow…_

* * *

><p>Just 2 (or maybe 3) more chapters till our favorite ninja's flashback ends and we get back to present day.<p>

**Goal: 200 reviews! **(Pretty please, Oh Great and Almighty 200+ followers)

_**Please Review~**_


	17. Filler: Itachi & Naruto Drabbles

**Filler: Itachi and Naruto Drabbles  
><strong>

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

**IMPORTANT:**_I've got a bit of writer's block. I don't feel I'll be able to update for at least a month or two. So I thought I'd make the wait easier with this takes place before the Akatsuki and Naruto go on their camping trip. I hope you enjoy it~_

_**And thanks for the reviews! I asked for 200 and got 201 LOL! You guys rock~**_

* * *

><p>Naruto peaked at Itachi from the corner of his eyes. The Uchiha seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Naruto noticed he'd been doing that a lot lately. He quietly took the broccoli from his plate and attempted to subtly put it in his pocket.<p>

"Naruto."

"Yes, daddy?" He asked with sweet innocence.

Itachi turned to looked at him and smiled in amusement. "Nice try. But you have to eat your vegetables. "

The chibi jinchūriki pouted and put the nasty vegetable back on his plate. "But it tastes so _yucky_." He wrinkled his nose in disgust and it was just too _cute_.

"It doesn't matter, they are good for you. And they don't taste yucky."

"Yes, they do." Naruto looked absolutely convinced about his belief. "You try it."

"I already ate mine." The Uchiha told Naruto patiently.

"Uh huh, sure you did," the chibi narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Itachi hesitated for a second. He took the tray from Naruto and ate the broccoli. "There, happy?"

"What about the celerby?"

"Do you mean celery?" Itachi asked with a smile.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, celery, that's what I meant."

For the next few minutes he had Itachi taste most of the vegetables for yuckiness. When almost all the greens were cleared from his plate, Naruto took it back with a satisfied smile. Itachi watched him finish his meal with a small smile on his face.

Itachi knew Naruto had tried to "manipulate" him into eating most of his greens. But he just couldn't bring himself to crush the little boy's hopes by letting Naruto know that _he_ knew what the chibi was thinking.

_I never even let Sasuke push me around this much._ Itachi chuckled to himself. He looked at Naruto as the chibi cheerfully shoved food into his mouth, making his cheeks look extremely puffy. He was just too adorable. _No doubt I will miss him greatly when he's gone._

Itachi maintained a cool exterior as not to alert his son about his sadness. It will surely bring tears in his eyes. And one thing Itachi had discovered was that he could not stand the sight of Naruto in tears. It made his insides twist uncomfortably.

Naruto began chattering once he finished. Itachi snapped out of his silent sullen mood and gave his son the attention he so dearly loved from his daddy.

* * *

><p><em>Splash!<em>

Itachi watched in amusement as Naruto ran and jumped in another puddle.

_Splash!_

The chibi giggled in delight. He loved the sound that was made when he jumped in a puddle. It was so fun!

_Splash!_

"Daddy, c'mon, you do it too," Naruto ran to the Uchiha and pulled his hand.

Itachi shook his head, "No, Naruto, I'm good. You can go on ahead."

"Aw, pretty please?" He made his adorable puppy dog eyes at the Uchiha knowing full well it was his daddy's weakness.

Itachi looked slightly strained. He discreetly looked around to make sure there was no one there. He may be an evil villain in _disguise_ but he still had his pride. Not mention to the other Akatsuki members, his reputation was going to suffer if they saw him jumping around in puddles, playing with a little kid.

The duo was on the outskirts of the village where the Akatsuki often liked to train because it didn't rain as much there. Itachi silently said goodbye to some of his dignity and agreed, "Fine, I'll do it."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned and pulled his daddy towards another puddle.

_Here goes nothing._ He jumped in the puddle with his son.

**Later at Night**

"Did you have fun?" Itachi asked as he tucked Naruto in bed.

"Yup," the chibi smiled before a huge yawn broke it.

The Uchiha chuckled, "Good night Naruto." He placed a little kiss on the chibi's head.

"Night," Naruto replied sleepily.

Itachi silently got up and went to his own bed. He slid under the covers and pondered over the events of the day. He had never played in puddles before. One, it rarely rained in Konoha. Two, it was below an Uchiha and definitely not becoming of the Uchiha heir.

Although Itachi had to admit, it was…nice. He looked around suspiciously as to make sure no one had read his mind. Because heaven forbid someone find out that Itachi Uchiha thought playing in puddles was fun. Itachi chuckled to himself and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"No."<p>

"_Naruto_."

"No, daddy."

The duo stood in their room both with their arms across their chests. They were having a staring contest. Itachi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Naruto grinned in triumph. His daddy gave him a stern look.

"Naruto, you cannot walk around naked."

"But why?" The chibi pouted.

"It's inappropriate," Itachi held out a white shirt and green pants towards Naruto. _Where does he get these ideas?_ "Now put them on."

"But why?"

"If you don't, you'll catch a cold."

"But why?"

Itachi resisted the urge to groan. He loved the chibi to death but he had to admit Naruto could be really difficult sometimes. _This whole parenting thing is even harder than I thought_. If asking nicely wasn't going to work, he'd try another way.

"Please Naruto? I thought you loved me." Itachi mentally winced. He couldn't believe he was begging.

"I love you daddy but no," the chibi shook his head.

Itachi thought for a moment, "I'll take you to ramen for lunch."

Naruto paused and thought about it. "No daddy, you said ramen is bad for me."

Well, there goes bribery. _I can't believe he picks now of all times to be conscious about his eating habits. Naruto never turns down ramen._ Itachi put the clothes down and sat on his bed. _Am I really that bad of a parent?_ He started brooding.

Naruto felt guilty when he saw Itachi getting depressed and blamed himself. He put his clothes on and tugged at Itachi's shirt. The Uchiha was surprised to see his son looking guilty and frowned in confusion.

"You're not sad because of me, are you?" The chibi looked at him with watery eyes.

Itachi's eyes softened. "Of course not, whatever gave you that idea."

Naruto grinned. He felt relieved to hear he wasn't making his favorite person in the whole wide world sad. "So, can we still go get ramen?"

Itachi laughed. _Oh, so now he wants ramen_. But he agreed nonetheless. "Sure."

* * *

><p>"Done," Naruto exclaimed. "You can turn around now, daddy."<p>

Itachi turned and sat with his body facing Naruto. The chibi had said he wanted to be an artist so he had spent most of the morning drawing. Itachi figured it was because of Sasori and Deidara. _He's been spending too much time around them and their arguments about what true art is_.

Naruto held up several pieces of paper, his first drawing was about himself, "See, this is me climbing the tree like you did that one time."

"It's very nice," the Uchiha commented. He had no idea what to make of the drawing. _Is that supposed to be a tree? _

"How about this one?" Naruto showed him a new drawing.

There was a lot of red, and some black too. _Is it a tomato?_ Itachi studied it for a couple of seconds more. _Why is it wearing the Akatsuki cloak? Wait a minute, oh, of course_. "Sasori?"

"Yup, here's the next one."

This one, thankfully, was easier for the Uchiha. But how that was possible he had no idea, "Pain."

Naruto nodded really excited. "Wow, daddy, you're really good." He showed the Uchiha 2 more drawings. Of Pain. Needless to say, Itachi was starting to feel a little, dare the author say…jealous.

"Here's the last one," Naruto exhibited another drawing of, naturally, Pain. Itachi couldn't deny he felt a little stung about it. _Why do you care?_ He scolded himself. _So what if Naruto seems to respect Pain…possibly as much as he does me. It shouldn't matter. It won't matter when he's gone, when he won't even remember me._

Naruto began putting his pieces of art in a folder when Itachi saw it. "Naruto, is that the first drawing you drew?"

It was the one with Itachi holding chibi Naruto's hand. Both stick figures were smiling brightly.

"Yeah, it's my favorite." Naruto held it very carefully, as if it were made out of fine china. He really treasured it.

Itachi couldn't help the stupid smug smile that made its way up his face. He knew he was being childish but he couldn't help it. After Naruto was done cleaning up, Itachi picked him up, "Let's go get lunch."

"Okay," Naruto smiled brightly.

Needless to say, Kisame was on edge the entire day because Itachi hadn't stopped smiling once. It was creeping him out...

* * *

><p><em><strong>Please Review~<strong>_


	18. Camping Part II

**Chapter 18: Camping Part II**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**Previously: **The Akatsuki Base is infested with ants. Konan kicks all the members out. The Akatsuki members are all camping on the outskirts of Amegakure. Naruto walks through a Poison Ivy bush. Itachi reflects on the little amount of time he has left with Naruto.

To my older readers: This chapter is different from the sneak peak I gave because I lost the original chapter and had to redo the entire thing.

* * *

><p>Itachi watched curiously as Naruto tapped his foot impatiently. Before he can ask, Naruto groaned. "Where is he?"<p>

"Who?"

"Sasori! He promised to take me finishing after lunch."

_When did that happen?_ Itachi though unhappily. _Why the sudden interest? What does Sasori want? And speaking of the devil... _The red-haired ninja walked over to the blonde boy and handed him a fishing rod. "Here. Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" He took off towards the river.

Itachi stood up and was about to follow him when Sasori spoke up. "There's no need for you to give up some quality time, reading your book. I'll be there to keep an eye on him."

The Uchiha nodded and waited to see the puppeteer disappear before scowling. He couldn't say no without a valid excuse to why he'd rather look after the kid than enjoy the peace and quiet. Itachi figured he would give them 15 minutes before following them. In the meantime, he would come up with a satisfactory answer to why he gatecrashed their trip.

He looked at his hand. _Maybe I could say Pain specifically ordered me to keep an eye on Naruto? _Not like Sasori could ask the leader what kind of orders he was giving his subordinates. When 15 minutes were up, Itachi was about to leave but was stopped by Kisame and Kakuzu.

"Itachi, I need a list of all the weapons shops in Konoha," Kakuzu asked bluntly. "Hidan and I have to leave for a mission soon and that information is imperative."

It took them 10 minutes before the older ninja was satisfied and left to hunt down his partner. Itachi's relief was short lived as Kisame spoke up. "Now that you're done, want to spar? We haven't had a chance since you were stuck with baby-sitting duty. We can leave the kid to Sasori for another half an hour.

Itachi was sorely tempted to put Kisame in a genjutsu but it would be too damn suspicious. And his partner was acting differently since Itachi had put him through the _Nightmare Steelcage_ illusion. He could not risk warranting more suspicion, especially now. "Very well. Let's go."

* * *

><p>The sunlight filled the room through the window and woke up the room's sole occupant. Jiraiya groaned as he got out bed and wandered around deliriously. He stumbled into the greenhouse room Angela was in, tending to her flowers.<p>

"Ugh, how long was I out?"

"A few days," the herbalist plucked out an orange blossom and mixed it in her bowl.

"Hm," Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "I should get back to Naruto."

"Your apprentice will be back in good health by the time you get back to him."

"I see," he said.

Angela spoke up as the he was about to leave. "When you reach the Ivy Forest crossing, take the left road. The other will lead you to a dangerous path. I've heard the place is full of plants containing hallucination inducing pollen."

"Sure," he said distractedly. "Thanks."

Jiraiya moved as fast as he could. _I should be able to make it back in about a day and half._ Worry gripped his heart. _I'm worrying too much._ _Naruto will be there when I get back. It's not like he could have magically transformed into a little kid and then the Akatsuki would have just happened to find him. Pfft, yeah _that's_ possible._

After putting his doubts to rest, Jiraiya began coming with ideas for his new novel. _Hmm, yes…that does sound brilliant…and then…_

* * *

><p>Itachi resisted the urge to run back to camp. Kisame and Deidara were chattering ahead of him. Having heard the sound of metal clashing against metal, Deidara had come to investigate and found them. Naturally, never willing to let a chance to humiliate the Uchiha get away, he had challenged Itachi.<p>

He ended up losing of course but not before wasting more than half an hour of Itachi's precious time. Add to that the first half an hour which Kisame was responsible for, Itachi had nearly ripped his hair out in frustration for leaving _his son_ with _that man _for an _hour and half_!

He nearly sighed out in relief when he saw Naruto...sitting with Sasori. _As if it wasn't enough having to compete against Pain now _he _has to join in as well. Who's next, Deidara? _Itachi immediately halted his thought process, feeling foolish for his envy.

Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw his dad and ran to him. Itachi's arms twitched, ready to sweep Naruto off his feet and take him away from the Akatsuki. Naruto, completely oblivious to Itachi's turmoil, held up a fish.

"Look dad, I caught a fish. I wanted to call him 'Cuddles the Catfish' but Sasori said it's not good to get attached with lowly beings."

"That's nice," he replied blandly as Sasori stared unashamedly at them. "Come, let's get changed. Our clothes are too sullied to eat in. It's unsanitary."

He brushed past an amused Sasori, his Sharingan flashing wildly for a brief moment when their gazes met, making the redhead smirk wider. Itachi's hand found Naruto's shoulder, leading him towards the tent faster. Making sure the puppeteer was gone, he finally asked, "Why are you so muddy, Naruto?"

"There was a mud puddle! Sasori was nice and took Cuddles_—_I mean the fish_—_so I could play!"

"I see." Itachi's mind finally stopped conjuring terrible images of Sasori attempted to kill Naruto as he struggled to break free of the puppeteer's crushing grip on his soft and easily breakable neck.

* * *

><p><strong>Dinner Time<strong>

Itachi and Naruto were sitting on their respective log when Deidara arrived on his clay bird. He was the last to come. The rest were waiting on him. Not out of the goodness of their hearts but because the blonde artist had changed his appearance to bring back proper food from the village.

"Took you long enough," Hidan grumbled as he tore through his bento.

Itachi took two bento boxes from Deidara. Naruto giggled silently at the piece of shrimp stuck on Hidan cheek. Sasori came out of his tent and took Itachi's spot next to the jinchuriki, much to the silent chargin of the Uchiha. He stiffly sat next to his partner after handing one bento to Naruto.

Kisame looked down and shook his head at Itachi's jealously. It was hard not noticing the small shift in his eyes after having to put up with his experessionless mask for years. _That brat's going to be the death of him._ Kisame was sure if Kakuzu bothered to take his head out of the expense book, and Hidan and Deidara payed a little attention instead of pigging out, they would noticed the tension in the air.

He wasn't going to get into their business though. He didn't have a death wish after all. Kismae didn't understand where all the hostility came from. But he had an idea. One revolving around Sasori's sudden interest in Naruto and Itachi's overprotectiveness concerning the blonde annoyance.

_And the brat's completely oblivious!_ Kisame rolled his eyes. He observed Kakuzu, Hidan, and Deidara. _Guess it's true what they say, ignorance is bliss._ He was just grateful when his partner and the brat were done eating.

* * *

><p>Itachi felt a rush of victory as he walked with Naruto. The blonde boy had come to him and dragged him by the hand to show him something. Completely ignoring Sasori! "Where are you taking me, Naruto?"<p>

"It's a surprise!"

"Are you sure you know where you are going?"

"Of course I do," he tugged Itachi's hand. "We're almost there."

Another few minutes of walking and they finally reached their destination. There was a fork in the path leading father into the forest. Between the fork stood an enormous tree with a wide base and thick branches spreading out onto other trees. The darkness made it hard for Itachi to tell what kind of tree it was.

"Isn't it cool dad? I bet this is the biggest tree in the world! Can we make a tree house here?"

"I'll think about it."

Naruto's eyes narrowed at Itachi's tone of voice. "You're lying aren't you?"

"No, I am not."

"You'll think about it but we won't let me have tree house, will you?"

Itachi hesitated. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to lie. Finally he decide to go for an ambiguous statement. "You can have a tree house."

"Yes! I love you dad!"

"And I you," Itachi wrapped an arm around his shoulders and they settled at the base of the tree. "Look up Naruto."

"Wow..."

"We're far enough from the village to see them."

"The stars are so pretty!" Naruto gasped and pointed up. "I think one fell! Can we go get it?"

Itachi chuckled. "Don't you want to make a wish?"

"Oh yeah!" His shiny blue eyes widened before they snapped shut. Itachi followed his example and wished...

Naruto opened his eyes then pouted. "Aw, we didn't see where the star fell."

"Maybe next time."

They sat in peace and quiet...until Naruto began to fidget. "Dad, tell me a story."

"A story?" Itachi paused for a few moments. "Okay, this is the story of a ninja named Naruto_—_"

The chibi jinchūriki covered Itachi's mouth, "Really dad?"

Itachi smiled and gently removed Naruto's hand. "Yes Naruto, _really_. It's a good story, now listen..."

* * *

><p>Itachi opened his eyes, and blinked twice to clear his head. He straightened up and looked around. Dawn was breaking, illuminating the east with warm sunlight. It was getting lighter and lighter. Itachi frowned as he massaged his head, trying to remember what he was forgetting. Then it came to him.<p>

"Naruto!" He searched around frantically.

Looking at the freshness of the crushed vegetation indicated someone had taken the left path into the forest just hours earlier. Itachi quickly followed the tracks. They were small in size and he tried to calm his pounding heart by telling himself Naruto must have woken up and wandered off on his on. _I'm going to kill him! _

After another hour of searching led Itachi to a clearing, a wide open field covered with old rocks and pebbles. The dry dirt was similar to the one around the temple where the younger version of Naruto was found. But that was not what had the Uchiha's attention.

Sitting lazily on a rock in the middle of field was Sasori. Naruto was laying unconscious next to him, whimpering and twitching.

"About time."

Fury at Sasori and fear for Naruto merged, Itachi's Sharingan bled into Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty. If something happens to me, who's going to provide you with the antidote?"

Itachi froze. "What are you talking about?"

"During our little fishing trip, I may have poisoned little Naruto's water."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "You know you can't let him die or Pain will kill you. So you must have the antidote with you. I think I'll kill you and take it from your cold dead hands."

Sasori blinked. "Okay, you got me. I didn't really poison him. It was actually _you_."

Itachi kept quiet, waiting for the puppeteer to blurt out his plan.

"It was easy enough to drug the others. But I had to be careful with you. So I had Naruto here do it for me," Sasori smirked.

_How would Naruto do that? And _why_?_ Itachi's eyes widened.

"Finally figured it out, have you?" Sasori's smirk widened, "Yes, that's right. Naruto's my Sleeper agent now."

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><p><em><strong>Please Review~ <strong>_

_Don't you guys just loooove Sasori? I do :D_


	19. Safe Again

**Chapter 19: Safe Again**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Naruto and Sasori go fishing. Itachi gets jealous and worries for him. Naruto takes Itachi to a tree where he wants a tree house. Itachi tells him a story. Naruto is revealed to be Sasori's Sleeper Agent.

* * *

><p>"Why are you doing this?" Itachi asked Sasori, but his eyes never left Naruto's face.<p>

"Because, I am bored." He shrugged.

"You would betray the Akatsuki?" Maybe threatening him, implanting an idea about invoking Pain's and the rest of the organization's wrath would work?

"Isn't that what you were planning on doing by sending the boy back to Konoha?" Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose it doesn't matter." Itachi stated coldly, "I'm going to kill you."

"But if you do that, who will reverse the suggestion I may have planted in his subconscious to leave this cruel world and join his mother and father, his _real _father," Sasori taunted, "in the afterlife."

"You're lying."

"Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

_Don't listen to him_. _He's being cruel and playing tricks. He wouldn't dare go against the Akatsuki and risk angering Pain for his own sick amusement._ Itachi's eyes flickered to Naruto's whimpering body. _What do I do? Was Sasori telling the truth when he said he didn't drug Naruto?_

Sasori was enjoying Itachi trying, and failing, to keep his emotions in check. Naruto let out an anguished cry, as if his someone were breaking his bones. _Not far off the mark_. Sasori looked at the blonde jinchūriki. _It's begun._

"What's wrong with him?" Itachi asked, panicked as Naruto began to thrash.

_This isn't supposed to happen yet_. Sasori hated it when things didn't go according to plan. He watched Itachi get paler by the second. He took out a kunai and threw it to him, the Uchiha caught it easily. "Use it, and take out your eyes."

"No," Itachi's glared. His fury faltered when he heard Naruto cry out in pain.

"If you want to know what's wrong with him, do what I say."

"You will stop this or—"

"I _can't _stop this. Well, I might know a way. But it's too late now." Sasori shrugged and on cue Naruto let out another cry. Itachi gripped the kunai tighter.

"Fine," he moved to take out his right eye. His kunai was knocked to the ground by another. He stared at Sasori's outstretched hand in shock. "W-what? Why?"

"I was _hoping _for some pleading and begging." The redhead sighed in exasperation. "Or a nice challenging fight. But I am _not _putting my neck on the line if you're going to ruin my fun by rolling over like some obedient little_ dog_." He got off the rock and picked up Naruto's twitching body.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked, muscles coiled and ready for action.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "I am taking the brat back to the temple. He's beginning to return to his real age. That's why he's hurting; it's painful how fast his body is maturing."

"That's it? You're just...going to let it go?" Itachi stared at him incredulously, voice colored with disbelief.

Sasori shrugged. "The brat's worth more to me alive than dead."

"Because he's your sleeper agent." Itachi felt an itch in his hands, resisting the urge to make hand seals and burn the Suna bastard to ashes.

"Yes, well, I lied," Sasori said lazily.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Begins<strong>

"Naruto, can you do me a favor?"

"What?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.

Sasori smirked, "I plan on pranking your dad. Want to help me?"

"Sure," he replied enthusiastically, jumping up. He watch eagerly as the Puppeteer took something out of his cloak.

"Here," Sasori handed him a vial.

Naruto took it curiously, "What do I do with it?" It was about the size of his index finger, translucent with a strange, clear liquid in it.

"You remember the tree we saw on our way here?"

"The really big one?" His eyes got wide, imagining a cool tree-house that could be built. That could be his secret hiding place!

"Yes. First, rub the content of the vial, the water, over your hands. Then take your dad to that tree. Understand me so far?" Sasori tried to sound as patient as he could. Naruto nodded, looking at the vial in his hand. "Then I want you to use any excuse to cover his mouth." Sasori instructed. Making sure Naruto was paying attention.

"Why?"

"Because it will make him sleepy," he explained. "That way when I come get you, he won't notice."

Naruto giggled, "Okay!"

**Flashback Ends**

* * *

><p>Sasori grinned at Itachi's half-shock half-murderous look. "I guided him from the trees so when you saw the tracks you'd think he left on his own."<p>

His amusement was interrupted as Naruto screamed. Sasori sighed and walked over to the frozen Itachi and dropped Naruto in his arms. He turned and began to leave not bothering to see the Uchiha's reaction, "Let's go."

_This was all just a cruel joke!_ Itachi crushed Naruto against his chest and buried his face in Naruto's hair. _Of course you would give me a near heart attack before you leave._ He looked up. "Why?"

"Like I said, I was bored. Come along now."

Unconsciously, he began to follow Sasori. Far too soon the scenery began to change and look familiar. Itachi became slower and slower. _Maybe this is all a part of Sasori's plan. Maybe Naruto really _is _poisoned. And Sasori's just passing it off as if Naruto's going back to his real age so he can take him from me. _

Itachi knew he was just lying to himself. _All the times I imagined what I would say before you left, so many things I thought I'd say...now I can't even accept the situation. _

"Hurry up," Sasori called out in irritation. "Naruto won't stay that small for long."

Of all things, it was Sasori calling Naruto by his name. That was what finally caused Itachi to resign to the fact in half an hour's time; Naruto would no longer be his cheerful little son. _No longer mine? He was never mine in the first place. No matter how much I liked to pretend he was._

"We're here," Sasori announced.

Itachi's stomach dropped at the sight of the temple. They climbed the cracked steps and Itachi led them to a large room. Naruto's belongings lay near a pile of rotten food. Sasori gathered it up and muttered something about getting rid of the evidence and left. Itachi quietly took out Naruto's black and orange jumpsuit and redressed him.

The clothes were too big on his now 8 years old body but soon...

"I...don't know. What am I supposed to say?" He paused. "Although, a few things are a given. You. You are so wonderful and bright. Just being near you, seeing you smile made me feel so accomplished. And made me feel my life was beautiful."

"My mother once told me, the three most important roles for a woman are: daughter, wife, and mother. For a man, for me specifically, it would be: son, brother, and father. I was a horrible son. I turned against my family and betrayed them. I destroyed my brother's life. I'm so ashamed of myself, the blood on my hands..."

He shook his head. "You, you're so _pure _and _good_. I used to feel so wrong about thinking you as my son, you deserved better than that." He noticed droplets on Naruto's face and realized they were tears. His hand flew to his face.

"I haven't cried in years. But I believe these are tears of joy. I hope I was at least half as good as your biological father would have been." He began smoothing out Naruto's hair. "I knew your mother really well. Had she lived, you no doubt would have been my honorary little brother. It's too bad I never had the chance to tell you how much you take after her with your fierce personality."

"I gave up the desire to live a long time ago." Itachi gave him a genuine smile, "But you made the burden and everything negative weightless, you made me want to live again. To watch you become Hokage and tell you how proud I am of you."

"Naruto, with you I had a chance to be something I could never dream of. Being a father." Itachi leaned forward and rested his forehead against Naruto's. "Thank you, for giving me the chance to be a wonderful father to you."

He inhaled deeply, committing the warm and innocent scent to memory, and exhaled. "You will hate me. But that's alright. Because I will always think of you as my son and love you and support you with every fiber of my being. You're my legacy. The embodiment of Shisui's Will of Fire. Protect the village and her inhabitants. And the most important thing, know this my son: I will always watch over you and care for you no matter what."

* * *

><p>Itachi, calm cool and collected once more, stepped outside and saw Sasori staring off into space. He turned around, "What do you plan on telling Pain?"<p>

"I'll think of that later. But first, I need you to do something for me," Itachi said in determination.

Sasori wasn't expecting the Uchiha to ask a favor from him, "What do you want?"

"I want you to erase Naruto's memories."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because he has knowledge of all of our members and the location of the base," Itachi twisted his wishes into something that would sound logic based.

"In other words," Sasori saw through him though, "he'll be a liability if he remembers. One Pain might not be so lenient to let slip away. He can't risk compromising our identities and the main base's location, jinchūriki or no jinchūriki. And knowing your 'history' with the brat, he will order someone else to...take care of the problem."

"Will you do it?" Itachi gave no hint of emotion knowing full well Sasori would use it against him.

"I...will do it. As I've said before, the brat's more fun alive than dead. I can use the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand technique I use to create Sleeper agents. But instead of suppressing all memories over a small period of time, I'll suppress the memories of the past week-and-half for a long period of time."

"Can't it be permanent?"

"No, you can't ever erase a memory, at least not without causing massive trauma to the brain first."

"Very well then," Itachi disappeared back into the room. Sasori followed him.

**An Hour Later**

"It's done. He'll be in deep slumber for a few hours. When he awakens, his mind will be blank, remembering only that he got sick and was unconscious the entire time." Sasori stood up. He pulled something out of his cloak, it was a glass vial, and he emptied out the contents. The smell of the rotten food began to fade away. He went over to the side of the room and pulled the rusty old boards, opening the window.

Itachi was wondering what he was doing when he felt the wind. He realized it would cause the dust and leaves to fly in. It would mask any clues that more than one person had been there, and cover the smell of an unoccupied room. Jiraiya would be satisfied just seeing his apprentice safe and healthy. But the redhead was taking no chances. Moving around eliminating any evidence the Toad Sanin may find. When he was done, he observed their surrounding with a keen eye.

_No doubt his detail-oriented mind is one of the reasons he is such an efficient spy._ Itachi's thoughts turned to the Uchiha clan members after Shisui's death. They'd thought Itachi had killed him. Even though he hadn't, they had their suspicions about him. Itachi was a genius when it came to combat. But this, spying and manipulation from the shadows, this was what the Suna ninja did best. He could twist people's minds and make them shatter their deepest beliefs like fine china.

Sasori had just finished when he felt it. He stiffened, "Feel that chakra?"

"It's Jiraiya," Itachi answered, remembering the feeling from the first time they'd met. As criminals, they were used to constantly masking their chakra. Jiraiya had no reason to, so he was easy for them to sense. Though Itachi doubted an average ninja would be able to pick it up. "He's close."

"I do believe we have ourselves a reasonable excuse," Sasori smirked and made way out of the room. "We better leave now or he'll catch us."

Itachi didn't dare look back at Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong>Akatsuki Base: Pain's Office<strong>

Pain narrowed his eyes. "He's _gone_?"

"Yes," Itachi nodded, wincing in pain. "Jiraiya caught me off guard."

"I heard sounds of a battle and followed," Sasori spoke up looking as cold as ever. "He wasn't expecting another Akatsuki member to show. Jiraiya had the boy, who was back to his real age, summon a toad while he blocked us."

"I take it they were reverse-summoned to the toad's home then?" Pain asked. Itachi nodded and Pain frowned, "Jiraiya may not have realized how close he was, but that boy knows of our location."

"I do not believe that is the case. He was confused and idiotically asking Jiraiya, during the middle of a _fight_, where he was and what had happened." Sasori rolled his eyes, as if unable to believe how stupid some people could be.

Pain leaned back in his chair. There was a chance this whole thing was a farce. Itachi had grown too attached and been compromised. But Nagato failed to come up with a plausible explanation of how Sasori, of all people, could be involved. Kisame, or possibly even Deidara, he may have held suspicions about, but not Sasori.

_Of all times for Konan to be needed in the village, it had to be when Naruto was rescued by our old sensei._ If she did not have a prior engagement and kept a usual close eye on him, Pain was sure Konan and Itachi together could have defeated Jiraiya.

He took a minute before he spoke. "I suppose there's nothing to be done now. We are fortunate the jinchūriki does not remember. You're dismissed. And get those injuries taken care of."

Sasori ignored the Uchiha and went his separate way. It was as if the past few hours had never happened. Itachi's body throbbed, but he didn't care. Every broken bone, cut, and bruise, courtesy of one red-haired puppet master to give merit to their excuse, they were all worth it.

Naruto was safe again.

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><p><em><strong>Felicity Dream<strong>__ was the only one who saw the Sasori-possibly-an-ally thing coming :D_

**Next Chapter:** We get back to the present with Naruto and Tsunade.

_**Please Review~**_


	20. Challenge

**Chapter 20: Challenge **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**Previously**: Sasori tricks Itachi for fun. They leave Naruto where he was originally found after Sasori uses his memory concealing technique. The two lie to Pain claiming they were attacked by Jiraiya.

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><p>Shizune bit her lip, watching nervously as Tsunade gripped the rail, staring out at the village with shoulders tensed. <em>Naruto's condition can't have been that bad. Surely she would have told me. Besides, he's the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, I'm sure he'll be fine<em>. She tried to reassure herself.

Three days.

Three days had passed since Tsunade had given Naruto a check-up he himself requested. Shizune couldn't fathom what could have led to the Hokage being so distracted she'd stopped drinking sake. That disturbed her more than anything. Shizune cleared her throat, "Lady Tsunade, Sai has requested an emergency meeting."

"Send him up." Tsunade sensed his chakra but didn't bother turning around. "What do you need?" She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. _I am _not _in the mood for any of Danzō's shit right now. _Then again, she did need to release the tension. Quite frankly she'd use any excuse she could to beat that bastard senseless.

"This is about Naruto."

Tsunade finally looked at him. "Shizune, give us some privacy." She dismissed the ANBU as well. They were reluctant but went far enough to get out of earshot but still have the Hokage in their field of vision. "What does Danzō want now? To use Naruto as bait to capture the Uchiha? The elder one, that is."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I know you were there. At Naruto's apartment when he...remembered."

"Yes... Kakashi-sensei asked me to drop by. He, too, noticed, that Naruto was acting...off." Sai explained. "I missed the first part of the conversation but I got the gist of it." He shifted uncomfortably. "I know you are not inclined to believe me, I am a part of Root, but I am here as Naruto's friend."

Tsunade already knew this, having spoken to Kakashi about his blonde student while she checked on him. He'd brought it up and she'd put his concerns to rest. That secret was not hers to tell. "Kakashi trusts you, and I trust his judgment."

"Thank you, Lady Hokage," he was slightly more relaxed. "I... Naruto hasn't left his apartment in days. Ugly's starting to worry too. I don't know how to help him. It's why I came here, to ask you for advice. You're the only one who knows about his secret."

"Don't tell it to anyone either, not even the rest of your team." Tsunade sighed, "I'm actually glad you're here. That brat's been worrying me too. I need someone to look after him. You already know why he's depressed so it's perfect."

"But what do I _do_?" He asked almost anxiously.

"Keep him company." She knew he wouldn't push Naruto, like her apprentice would, to share his feelings and let it out. Naruto had to do that on his own time, when he felt ready. "Just be patient with him and let him know you're there for him. Trust me that is enough."

Sai accepted, not really knowing what else to do.

* * *

><p>"...How'd you get in?"<p>

"You gave me a spare key." Looking around the room, Sai picked up a ruler from under a pile of scrolls and jabbed the cocoon of blankets and sheets that Naruto had wrapped around his body. "You need fresh air."

"No."

"Come and have lunch with me."

"I don't feel like it."

"Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Captain Yamato are worried about you."

"…Tell them I'm fine."

It was time to pull out the big guns. "I have Ichiraku ramen," Sai waved the plastic bag near Naruto's face, or where Sai assumed his face was. "I have some Misao ramen if you want to join me on the roof for lunch."

Naruto poked his head out of his cocoon, eyes focused on the bag. Sai moved back slowly, using the bag as bait. Naruto wiggled out of bed and slithered after Sai like a larva. He ditched the sheets and soon joined Sai on the roof. Naruto picked up a bowl. "I'm starving," he mumbled between gulps.

"When was the last time you ate?" Sai noted the wrinkled state of his teammate's pajamas. Naruto shrugged, moving on to his second bowl. Sai mentally patted himself for buying four bowls for the jinchūriki. "Kakashi-sensei's still in the hospital and Captain Yamato's preparing for a solo mission."

"How's Sakura?"

"Swamped at work."

They were silent for a minute.

"…Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Why you've shut yourself in," Sai played around with his lunch.

Naruto shrugged again.

"Is this about that incident with the Akatsuki?" Sai blurted out, and then mentally kicked himself.

"What do you mean?" Naruto focused on the food.

Sai paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He had wondered about it for some time and after overhearing Naruto and Tsunade, it made sense. "On the mission to rescue the Kazekage, we faced Itachi Uchiha," he noticed Naruto's fingers twitch at the name, "and he did something, and said something very interesting. It's been on my mind for a while."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto demanded impatiently.

"He smiled."

"_What_?"

"When he looked at you, he said you've matured. I could have sworn he smiled when you hit him with your Great Ball Rasengan. He seemed almost…proud of you."

Sai wondered maybe he shouldn't have opened his mouth as he watched Naruto leave without another word or glance in his direction.

* * *

><p>"Naruto, open up~"<p>

The blonde jinchūriki had ignored the pounding at his door for 10 minutes now. Unfortunately, Jiraiya wasn't one to give up so easily. Eventually, Naruto got fed and confronted him, "What?!"

"Well it's about time." Jiraiya grinned widely. "From that sourpuss look on your face I take it you don't want to be disturbed. BUT! It has come to my attention you've turned into a recluse."

"I had lunch with Sai two days ago."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"Course you didn't," Naruto sneered.

Jiraiya frowned, his cheeriness now gone. He was serious for once, "What's the matter?"

"Why're you here, Pervy Sage?"

"Tsunade tells me you haven't—"

_SLAM!_

Naruto scowled, walking away from the door. He yanked on his orange jacket and left his apartment via the window. He kept running, not having a specific destination in mind. It was late evening when he returned; first making sure no one was around. He landed on the balcony and was about to head inside when he heard a voice from the street drift over.

"About time, we've been waiting for hours," Sakura stepped out of the shadows.

Naruto grumbled, "I thought no one was around…"

"Your chakra sensory sucks," Sai barely managed to refrain from calling him 'Dickless.'

The duo went inside with him. "What's wrong, Naruto?" Sakura eyed the sorry state of his apartment. After coming from his trip with Jiraiya, his habits were cleaner. The mess was worrisome if it represented his mental state. "I haven't seen you so down since…since Sasuke left."

"This has nothing to do with that Uchiha," Naruto replied bitingly.

Sai noticed his choice of words immediately. _It has to do with the _other_ Uchiha_. He wisely kept his mouth shut. Sakura was taken back. Never had her blonde teammate talked about Sasuke in way that almost suggested…hostility. _Anger, sadness, and confusion sure, but he's never shown any hint of aggression or hate_. She eyed him warily. "Did something happen on the mission?"

Naruto thought for a few seconds, remembering his first encounter with Sasuke after three years. "Yeah, something did."

"What is it?" Sakura could accept Sasuke even after all he did to her. But if he did something to Naruto, she wasn't sure she could forgive him.

"I…don't think Sasuke's worth the pain."

"Why? He's our teammate—"

"Some teammate, he tried to kill me. He didn't let me live for our so-called friendship's sake but because it was something his brother wouldn't have done." The words tasted sour in his mouth.

_The very same brother who happens to be your father-figure._ Sai was starting to see where this was going. Naruto's antagonistic feelings came from the fact Sasuke was trying to kill Itachi. Both were close to him but he was far more attached to the elder Uchiha. But Itachi had wronged Sasuke and now Naruto was conflicted.

"I don't—" Sakura paused, "No; I…see where you are coming from. But he's still our teammate. He saved your life by throwing himself in the face of danger."

"Of course he did, he just wanted a best friend to kill so he could awaken a Magekyō Sharingan."

"I don't believe it," she shook her head.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "If he legitimately tried to kill you you'd still run back—"

Sai cleared his throat. "Sakura, I don't think it's a good idea to antagonize him right now." He couldn't say Naruto's emotional state was a bit of a mess without going into detail. "As an outsider, I think I have an easier chance of understanding without personal belief getting in the way." His distraction worked like a charm.

Their expressions immediately morphed into guilt. "You're not an outsider," Sakura said fiercely, "say that again and I'll kick your ass!"

"I'll help her!" Naruto vowed.

"I meant I am a third party and I can see where you both are coming from. Neither of you are wrong. You should let Sasuke be. It's his lifelong goal to kill the _murderer_ of his _family_," he said to Sakura. "If he comes back and apologizes," he said to Naruto, "then he should be punished accordingly. You have the _option_ to forgive him but you _don't_ have to forget."

Sakura was unhappy but complied, "That sounds fair."

_Some promises are meant to be broken._ Some people were worth suffering for. Itachi's words popped up in his subconscious and Naruto nodded as well.

"That was nicely said, Sai," Sakura smiled slightly as the tension in the room lessened.

"Thank you, I read it in a book."

* * *

><p>"He seems better, I'm glad." Tsuande watched Naruto practice with Kakashi and Yamato. He was returning to the slightly goofy and lovable blonde idiot she first met. <em>But mature, far more mature<em>. She couldn't help but mentally roll her eyes. _No thanks to Jiraiya…_ He could maybe help Naruto but she didn't want to break confidentiality. As a medic, it was far too deeply ingrained in her.

"As am I, Lady Hokage," Sai replied.

"So what's on your mind now?"

"I was wondering if I should approach Naruto and let him know that I know. Apparently good friends don't keep such secrets from one another. Besides," he shrugged, "Naruto is an open and loudly opinionated individual who wears his emotions on his sleeve. I think it'll help him, even if I won't fully understand."

"You don't have to," Tsunade smiled, "you only have to be a good listener. Sometimes that's all you ever need."

Tsuande departed, back to work. Sai waited until Naruto was done. "Kakashi-sensei, Captian Yamato, if you don't mind, may I have a few minutes alone with Naruto?"

"What do you need?" Naruto plopped down.

Sai felt an odd feeling and he wondered if that was called discomfort. He felt uncertain to bring up Itachi now that Naruto was finally feeling better. The blonde jinchūriki had his own ideas about why his pale teammate was there. "You want to know about my awesome technique, right? Of course, you do!"

Sai didn't a chance to speak after that and he opted to meet Naruto later. However later didn't come when the news of Asuma's death reached them. Kakashi became the temporary leader of Team 10 on their mission to kill two Akatsuki members while Team Kakashi became their backup.

* * *

><p>Naruto dodged Kakuzu's attack and grinned. "C'mon old man, you can do better than that. Do you remember the time I messed up your calculations? By the way, Sanity is a dumb name for a teddy bear."<p>

"You _remember_," Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Now you absolutely cannot be allowed to live."

"Won't Pain get mad?" He grinned cheekily, "I think he's rather fond of me."

Kakashi, Yamato, Choji, and Ino watched in confusion as Naruto and the S-rank criminal talked. "What're they doing?" Choji asked.

"It's almost like they know each other," Ino murmured, observing their body language. Kakashi and Yamato didn't have answers to give them.

"Itachi let you leave, didn't he?" Kakuzu put the pieces back together. "And Sasori was in on it, the devious bastard."

"Now _I_ can't allow _you_ to live," Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Much to the spectators shock, Kakuzu laughed. "What's going on?" Ino frowned. "What're they talking about?"

"How cute, you're still very attached to Itachi, aren't you? You're traitors, the both of you. Itachi will die for sure. But I wonder how your friends will react when they find out—"

"That only happens if you make it out of here in one piece."

Naruto attacked him and Kakuzu avoided easily.

"If given the chance, I wonder if you can bring yourself to kill your precious dad—a murderous psychopath that betrayed your village and tortured his little brother," Kakuzu smirked. Kisame had gotten drunk and spilled the details on his and his partner's first attempt to capture Naruto. "The younger Uchiha's your teammate, isn't he? I have a feeling they're going to have a confrontation soon. What'll you do then? Which one do you want to live and which you want to die?"

"Shut up," Naruto growled.

"You want the younger one to die, don't you? He's nothing but an annoyance to you, just like he was to Itachi." Kakuzu gave him a well-placed kick to his gut. "Betraying the people around you, that's what he taught you, yes? Like father like son."

"SHUT UP! HE'S NOT A TRAITOR!"

Too caught up trying to rile him up, Kakuzu missed Kakashi sneaking up behind him. He moved away from the Copy-Nin. _I'm down to my last heart, _was the last thought he had before Naruto slammed him with his Rasenshuriken.

* * *

><p><strong>A Few Days Later<strong>

"Lady Tsunade, I need to talk to you, in private."

Tsunade sighed. "I have a feeling I know what this is about." She led him to the roof. She found the fresh air helped clear her mind so she could think better. "Speak freely, we're alone."

"Thank you," Kakashi inclined his head. "As you've figured, I'm here about Naruto. I'm worried about him."

"He's had that effect on people recently."

"This is about the mission…" Kakashi explained Naruto and Kakuzu talking, something she read in the report. "Naruto wasn't yelling his usual 'I'm going to kick your ass' speech. They were actually having a conversation but the rest of us were too far to hear. When I was able to save enough chakra to get in a sneak attack, I heard something very peculiar."

"What did you hear?" Tsunade asked neutrally.

"Kakuzu's exact words were 'Betraying the people around you, that's what he taught you, yes? Like father like son.' To which Naruto replied, very angrily, 'He's not a traitor.' Correct me if I'm wrong but the last time I checked, Naruto's father was a hero, not a traitor. How would Kakuzu even know who Naruto's father is?"

"That's what Naruto said?" She wondered what was going on through the blonde's mind._ It's his defense mechanism, rationalization. Naruto's justifying Itachi's actions in his head somehow, just like he did with Sasuke._ Except this time it was a lot more dangerous. _He's been emotionally compromised_. Tsunade sighed, "I know what that means. I think he'll confide in you soon but not yet, so don't question him about it. In the meantime, I'll talk to him."

* * *

><p>Tsunade pounded on the door, "Naruto, open the door." No answer. Her eyebrow twitched, she was the Hokage, and she wouldn't tolerate this bull headedness. "Uzumaki, this is your last chance before I kick the door down."<p>

It worked like a charm. "Sorry, grandma," he said distractedly.

"Where are you pants?"

Naruto looked down; he was wearing a white shirt and green boxers. "I haven't changed clothes in days and I didn't think you'd appreciate the smell. So I took a quick shower. You threatened to kill my door so the pants were left behind."

Tsunade eyed the sorry state of his apartment. "Either Sakura lied about your new cleaning habits or a tornado ripped through here."

Naruto shifted awkwardly, unsure what to do. "So um, what can I do for you?"

"Kakashi heard some of your conversation with Kakuzu."

He stiffened, "What exactly did he hear?"

"When you said Itachi's not a traitor. Of course, Kakashi doesn't know who you were talking about."

Naruto relaxed, "I know what you're thinking. But the truth is I think he's innocent. I have proof now, well, kind of."

"Actually, that's exactly what I figured you were thinking."

"C'mon grandma, just listen." Naruto shuffled through the mess of scrolls and picked up a book. "Sasori gave this to me on my birhtday."

"The Akatsuki member who was killed by Chiyo and Sakura?"

"Yeah, he helped me escape too. Sasori told me it was a book on how to be a spy. But it's actually a record book of his contacts. Everything here is about his spy network. I found it and originally thought it was from Pervy Sage. It seemed boring so I tossed it aside. I only remembered when Kakuzu called Sasori a devious bastard."

"This book is a gold mine," Tsuande flipped throught the pages. "Jiraiya can—"

"No, only I can decode this book, just like Sasori intended."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm going to take over his spy network."

Tsunade's eyes widened, "Is that what you've done the past few days?"

Naruto nodded, "Look at this." He opened the book to the first page and put some of chakra into it. Words began to appear.

_Naruto, _

_If you are reading this, it means I am dead. I am the one who altered your memories. Of course, it's a lot more intricate than that, but I have a feeling it'll go over your head. The jutsu I placed on you would weaken after my passing and release a suggestion in your mind. I knew that like the bone-headed idiot you are, you would go after the Uchiha brat. The ocular powers of the Sharingan would affect my jutsu and cause psychological reactions. Naturally, you'd seek treatment, eventually releasing your sealed memories. __The suggestion I planted will help you solve the riddles within the book I gave. Only you can do it. The codes I've used were of my own creation and I highly doubt anyone can solve it without the key. And the key is in your mind._

"What's the point though?" Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed. "I mean why would he do this?"

"Keep reading," Naruto urged.

_Enough of that, now I am sure you are wondering why I would do this. And what could you possibly gain from it? To answer the first question, as you know, I am a firm believe that art is eternal. I, on the other hand, am not. So I will live on through you. You will use my spy network and carry on my legacy. You might not be inclined to agree at first, so I'll give you a little motivation._

_If you can decode my book, it'll help you find out the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre. _

"The truth behind the Uchiha Massacre?" Tsunade froze.

_Itachi, along with the three conspirators, do not realize I know this. My information is sound. I have sleeper agents everywhere. One was a member of the Uchiha clan. I made it a point to have a spy in every major clan._

"This is bad."

"Not really, go on."

_My Memory Sealing Manipulative Sand Technique is genius. The subject himself does not realize he is under my control. It's virtually undetectable. Unfortunately, you lack the delicacy and control not to mention the medical knowledge to perform it. So my sleeper agents will stay dormant unless awakened. _

"That's good," Tsunade relaxed.

"He kind of grumbles about how graceless I am and whines in the next paragraph so you can skip it," Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly.

_Let's get back on the topic. Itachi is not who you think he is. If you want to find out the truth, solve the riddles in this book._

_P.S. Don't you dare spill anything on it you little shit._

_And remember, Art is Eternal_

"So?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"It could just be a wild goose chase," Tsunade pointed out.

"But it's _not_. He gave this to two years ago. I _knew_ him. He's not the type to do something without a hidden motive. Trust me, Lady Hokage."

Tsunade folded her arms, "Are you trying to butter me up?"

"Please?" Naruto made puppy dog eyes. They always worked on Itachi.

"I suppose it's worth looking into. At the very least, it's a chance to exercise your mind."

"YES!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "Thank you!" He hugged her. Naruto swore he would find out the truth about what happened that fateful night. _Challenge accepted, Sasori! _

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><p><strong><em>Please Review~<em>**


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